Human
by Chakat StarDust
Summary: Yugi is a robot that falls in love with one of his masters and seeks out to become human.
1. Chapter 1

Wolf: Hello, new story, hope you like this one!

"What is it?" Mokuba Kaiba asked excitedly as his brother followed the workmen hauling a huge box into the living room. Mokuba gave his brother Seto the best navy blue-eyed puppy eyes stare he could and shook his long shaggy black hair back from his face.

"It's too small to be another car." Yami Sennen, the Kaiba brothers' cousin stated from his position at the piano. His crimson eyes glinted with amusement as Mokuba continued to pester his brother. He ran his fingers through his star-shaped hair, the pattern of red-tipped black spikes and hanging blonde bangs snapping back into place neatly when he let go. His tanned skin gleamed in the sunlight like polished wood.

"Please, Seto." Mokuba whined, dancing around like an excited puppy. Seto smiled, a rare gesture for the icy blue-eyed brunette. He leaned down, a far way to go for the impossibly tall man, to lightly hug his little brother.

"Alright, let's open it then." Seto said and opened the front of the box in the door. Standing inside was...

"A robot." Mokuba breathed in awe. And indeed it was. Pressed into Styrofoam, with its eyes closed it looked as though it were sleeping. The body of the robot was a pale white-grey colour and seemed to be made of some sort of plastic. Mokuba could see lights racing under the 'skin'. It looked almost human, same sort of proportions and body design.

"It doesn't look like your other robots." Yami commented. Most of the robots seen in the world seemed like multiple tins cans tied together to mimic human shape. Yami thought them a sad caricature of a man and refused to acknowledge them for the most part.

"He is the latest model by Kaiba Corp." Seto said proudly. "Sleeker, more fashionable.."

"Creepier." Yami interjected. "I don't understand why you need to make them look so human."

"People are more comfortable with something if it looks familiar." Seto replied, not put out by his cousin's dislike of the thing.

"Yes, but why do you have to give them faces?" Yami asked, looking at the thing's face. It had the impression of lips, a nose, indents of ears, and wide-looking eyes. At least there was no imitation of hair.

"Studies show that people react more positively if there is a face to go along with words. The face is what people most look to for reassurance, and so to create a robot without a face would cause discomfort." Seto watched as Mokuba picked up one of the robot's hands and inspected the fingers, moving each one.

"Well, we don't want that." Yami muttered. "But, I am surprised. You've never brought home one of your robots before."

"Yeah Seto, what gives?" Mokuba cocked his head at his brother.

"Well, this is actually a prototype. And I wanted to be the one to test it out myself." Seto explained.

"A prototype for what?" Yami asked suspiciously.

"It is fitted with artificial intelligence. It can learn, and will do so in this house, under my eyes."

"Are you mad?" Yami demanded. "Do you realize how many ways that could go wrong?"

"It can be turned off and disposed of if necessary." Seto continued. "It is programmed with the three laws of robotics, so it cannot harm us or allow harm to befall us."Yami still looked dubious. "Now then, shall we turn it on?"

"Yes, yes!" Mokuba cried, jumping up and down as Seto removed the remote receiver from the Styrofoam by the robot's head and pressed the on button. The robot shuddered to life, its eyes opening. They were modelled after human eyes and so had pupils and irises in a brilliant violet shade. The difference between them and a person's eyes were that there was no light in the robot's eyes; it looked dead.

"Good afternoon, masters." The robot said as it walked out of its box. The voice was clear, bell-like, but with no inflection at all, no emotion. Standing up it was only a little taller than Mokuba was. The great big eyes blinked at each of its new masters in turn.

"Cool." Mokuba breathed. "What can it do?"

"Well, nothing really yet." Seto replied. "In order to make a full investigation of its learning abilities this robot has simply been programmed with knowledge of most words and the ability of movement. All other things it must learn."

"So, what? You're going to teach it how to do the laundry?" Yami asked, laughing shortly.

"Yes, probably, and other tasks around the house. The reason for this exercise is simply to discern its learning capabilities before going into full production."

"One is ready to begin." The robot piped up suddenly. It had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. "What is one's first task?" Seto tapped his chin with a finger.

"Mokuba, have you finished cleaning your room?" Mokuba shook his head. "Alright then. Robot, you will accompany Mokuba up to his room and help him clean it up, understand?"

"One understands." The robot made a curious little bow and followed Mokuba from the room.

"I don't trust it." Yami said fiercely, glaring at the robot's back. Seto glared at him.

"It's staying. You'd better get used to it."

Wolf: I know, a little short, but don't want to give away too much. Review plz!


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf: I own nothing!

Mokuba glanced behind him once to make sure the robot was following him. It looked up, meeting his eyes. Mokuba looked away, that dead stare was kind of unnerving. It reminded him, like the rest of the robot's shiny body, that this thing, though it could learn and talk like a human, and maybe even look like one, it was not.

"Well, here it is, my room." Mokuba said, theatrically throwing out an arm as they went inside. The robot merely stepped inside and looked around. The room was a disaster. Books had been pulled off the shelf, games lay on the ground out of their boxes, the pieces scattered about, stuffed animals hid in corners, waiting to be found.

"What does the Young Master wish one to do?" The robot queried. Mokuba scratched his head.

"Uh, you can put the books back on the bookshelf first, I guess." He said, gesturing to the aforementioned bookshelf. The robot nodded and picked up one book. He placed it haphazardly on the shelf.

"No, no." Mokuba groaned. "You've got to line them up, and in alphabetical order too."

"Alphabetical order?" The robot asked. It might have been confused, but the dead tone of its voice never changed once.

"Yes, you arrange the books in alphabetical order according to the last name of the author of the book." Mokuba said patiently.

"So that Young Master may be able to find what book he is looking for more easily?" Mokuba nodded. "One understands." The robot then proceeded to place all the wayward books in their correct places, even reorganizing the books already on the shelf, without Mokuba having to tell him.

"What is one's next task?" The robot asked, turning to Mokuba for an answer.

"You can sort all the different pieces into the game boxes they belong in." Mokuba replied. He helped, showing the robot which piece belonged where. Soon the robot learned to recognise the pieces and needed no more help. Mokuba wandered around, picking up stuffed animals and dumped them on the messy bed.

"Does Young Master require one's assistance with the bed?" The robot asked, seeing the mess. Mokuba nodded. "One does not understand that gesture."

"Oh." Mokuba said, feeling slightly foolish. Of course the robot would not understand human behaviour. "A nod," he demonstrated. "Means yes or some form of agreement or acknowledgement, and a shake of the head," Again he demonstrated. "Means no."

"One understands. So, one will help with the bed." Mokuba nodded again and the two of them made the bed neatly.

"What does Young Master require of one now?" The robot asked when they were done. Mokuba puzzled over this. There was nothing left in the room to be done.

"I guess you can explore the house, so that you can figure out where everything is. Just don't go into any rooms where the doors are closed." The robot nodded. Mokuba was surprised by the human action, but then remembered that he had told the robot what a nod meant, and so it chose to use that knowledge now.

As the robot left the room Mokuba hurried downstairs to tell Seto about it. He found Seto in the library, working on his computer.

"Guess what the robot did." Mokuba said excitedly. Seto raised an eyebrow at him. "When I told him to put the books away alphabetically he rearranged all the other books on the shelf too, without me having to tell him."

"It, Mokuba." Seto corrected. "It is not male or female, it is simply an it."

"Sorry." Mokuba said. "And then, when I told him—it that it could explore the house, it nodded at me!"

"Well, part of its programming is to observe and learn from its masters. It noticed that you nodded and used that in its own way."

"Yeah, I guess it did." Mokuba replied. "So what exactly is its job going to be?"

"It will simply do odd jobs around the house. For the most part it will be left to its own devices, to see just what it can learn on its own."

%&%&%&%

The robot in question was currently wandering around on the second floor still. Remembering the order to leave doors closed there were few places for it to explore upstairs and so it walked downstairs. It found a room in which there were several white clothed humans running around devices that gave off heat.

It watched the humans for a moment, its limited knowledge not able to tell it what this place was. One of the humans noticed it standing there and stopped what he was doing. The human's mouth turned down and his brows drew close.

"Get out of here!" The human yelled. The robot complied and headed elsewhere. A sliding glass door at the back of the mansion stood open and so the robot went outside. Immediately it sensed that this place was different.

There was no ceiling and the air was different, but the robot could not say how. At one side of the house the robot could see a collection of colourful items, most surrounded by green. It surmised these things to be 'plants' and 'flowers'.

The next thing it noticed was one of its masters kneeling by the garden with a sharp instrument. The master, whom the robot remembered was called Yami by the other masters, was using this instrument to cut away bits of plant. On closer inspection the robot realized the bits being cut away were a different colour than the rest, mostly a brownish colour.

The robot watched then as Yami put down the tool and cupped one of the flowers in his hand, bringing his face close to it. The robot processed this behaviour and then tried to imitate it, reaching out to touch one of the pink flowers.

"Don't touch that!" Yami roared, seeing the robot going for his roses. The robot took his hand away and turned to look at Yami.

"Does Master require one's assistance?" It asked. Yami shuddered at the sound of its dull voice.

"No, go away." He growled sharply. The robot made its curious bow and walked back inside the house. Yami glared at its back and shook his head at the folly of artificial life.

%&%&%&%

At the end of the day Mokuba was given the job of showing the robot where it could recharge for the night. He led the robot to the basement, where there were boxes and boxes of stuff.

"Alright, I guess this could be called your room." Mokuba said. "There's a plug over there for you to recharge."

"What should one do with all these boxes?" The robot queried. Mokuba shrugged.

"This is all stuff that can be thrown out I guess."

"Should one do that now?"

"No, night-time is for sleeping."

"One does not sleep."

"Recharging is to a robot as sleeping is to humans." Mokuba explained. "I was making a parallel." He yawned and then headed for the stairs. "Good night."

"One cannot be the judge of that." Mokuba rubbed his face.

"No, goodnight is what you say when you say goodbye at night." He explained in exasperation.

"One understands. Goodnight then, Young Master." Mokuba smiled and nodded before heading up the stairs. The robot looked around briefly and then tapped its chest. A small port opened and the robot reached in and pulled out a plug.

Moving to the wall it plugged itself into the wall socket. It stood there, powering down so that its batteries could recharge uninterrupted. As it powered off it went through its memory banks of the day one last time, checking for errors in data stream or in its performance of its functions. It noticed that it had seen no other robots in the house. While it didn't strike the robot as odd, it could not feel after all, it decided to make an inquiry of the masters, in case it was of importance.

Wolf: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf: I own nothing!

The robot turned itself back on at six in the morning. Such was its programming. It unplugged itself from the wall and regarded the boxes for one moment before going upstairs to meet Master Seto. Seto was getting ready to leave for the office. Mokuba was sitting on the stairs in his pyjamas, watching his brother.

When Seto was done packing he turned around to find the robot exactly where he had instructed him to be. "Robot, your task today is to clean up the library. It is done in the same manner that you cleaned Mokuba's bookshelf. Should you have any questions, consult Mokuba or Yami."

"Yes Master, one understands." The robot answered mechanically. It watched as Seto embraced Mokuba, the younger having to stand on tiptoes. It recorded this information, storing it in its memory files. Its programming was to observe human behaviour and that was what it was doing.

Mokuba looked on sadly as Seto walked out the front door. He never had time for his little brother anymore. Yami could play with him sometimes, but he often liked to be left alone with his music, or his flowers. And plus he was taking summer classes at the university some days, so he couldn't be relied on for companionship.

Mokuba watched the robot head towards the stairs and the library. Perhaps the robot could do stuff with him, but he would have to teach the robot first, and he wasn't sure that the robot wasn't programmed to let people win at games. Mokuba didn't even know if the robot knew what a game was.

"Pardon, Young Master, but one wishes to ask Young Master a question." Mokuba snapped out of his thoughts to find the robot staring at him, one foot on the stair.

"Go ahead." Mokuba said.

"One notices that there are no other robots in Master's household. If they were decommissioned it may be of use for one to know exactly what they did wrong so one does not make the same mishaps."

"Oh, no, we've never had a robot in the house before." Mokuba replied.

"May one enquire as to why?"

"Seto said that a human could do a job better than any robot any day because humans can think for themselves in situations where improvisation may be necessary." Mokuba quoted.

"Then why is one in this household?" The robot asked.

"Because, you're unique." Mokuba replied and then scampered up the stairs ahead of the robot, heading back for his warm bed. The robot stared after him a moment, processors working.

_Unique – special... different... Set apart from others._

_...One is unique. _

The library was bigger than Mokuba's bookshelf. The robot first walked through the oaken shelves that nearly touched the high ceiling and recorded the progression of author names on each shelf, committing them to its memory banks.

After that it set about placing any books left lying around in their correct places and placing those on the shelves put away in the incorrect places in their correct places. When it was done it looked at the shelves and pushed all the books in so that their spines lined up neatly.

"How did you know to do that?" Mokuba asked from the doorway. He was carrying a plate and taking bites out of a jam-slathered piece of toast.

"It was logical." The robot answered. "One observed that the mismatched spines seemed disorderly and merely made them seem tidier."

"Oh, I see."

"What does Young Master wish one to do now?" Mokuba considered this for a moment.

"You could play checkers with me." He said finally.

"One must inquire as to what 'checkers' is."

"Oh, it's a game." Mokuba said.

"Then Young Master must teach one to play, as one has no knowledge of checkers." Mokuba nodded and pulled out his checker board, showing the robot the pieces and telling him how to play. The robot could get no king-me's in their first game, but Mokuba saw no sign of frustration in it.

It surprised him, until he realized that the robot was incapable of emotion. They played again and the robot was able to come up with a rudimentary strategy that allowed it to get one piece kinged. Mokuba thought he saw a flicker of light in those dead eyes when that happened, but it was gone too soon for him to really tell.

It was during the third game that Yami came in. "What are you doing?" Yami's harsh voice made Mokuba jump, spilling some of the game pieces off the board.

"We're playing a game." Mokuba answered.

"Why are you playing with it?" Yami hissed, his crimson eyes narrowed at the robot.

"Nobody else plays with me." Mokuba replied defensively, petulantly. Yami huffed, picked up a book from the shelf and left the room. Mokuba turned back to the board with a sigh to find the robot had replaced the pieces exactly as they had been and was waiting for him, staring with those flat eyes. Mokuba shook his head and picked up one of his pieces, preparing to move.

"I don't know why Yami dislikes you so much." He commented, talking to the robot as though it were another human.

"One does not understand, what is to like?" Mokuba smacked himself mentally in the forehead. Of course the robot wouldn't know that, it did not feel, nor did it understand human emotion.

"I guess it's not important." He sighed. "It's not as though you care what people think."

"On the contrary, one is required to make sure that one's performance is satisfactory." The robot replied. "Does Master Yami have issue with one's work?"

"No, just with you."

"One does not understand."

"He thinks that artificial intelligence is bogus and a waste of time." Mokuba replied. The robot was silent; the little lights under its skin flashed and Mokuba found himself watching their racing paths through its body.

"Does Young Master require another game?" It finally asked, and Mokuba became aware that while he had been talking they had finished their game.

"No," he said, shaking his head to clear it. "It's fine."

"Does Young Master require anything else?"

"No, you can go clean out the basement if you'd like."

"If that is what Young Master wishes." Mokuba sighed in exasperation and just nodded at the robot. The robot gave him its peculiar bow and headed out of the room. Mokuba tried to figure out if the spark in the robot's eyes had been real, or just a figment of his imagination.

_Checkers evokes strange reaction in one. Reaction is...pleasant._

_Pleasant – something good, enjoyable, likeable. A feeling that one wishes to reproduce._

_...Checkers is pleasant. _

The robot stopped in front of the first of many piles of boxes. It had been told that they could be thrown out, but it concluded that it might be judicious to check the contents of each one to make sure it was not throwing out anything of importance.

The first box it lifted up off the top of a tall pile, so tall in fact that it had to stretch on its tip-toes to reach it. Carefully opening it, the robot gazed inside. Books, the box was chock full of books. Books belonged in the library, unless they were broken or inappropriate.

The robot lifted the first book out. It was made out of a harder, thicker material than the books in the library. It had a picture of a yellow, fuzzy creature with a beak on it and it was called: In the Barnyard. The robot opened the book and scanned each page into its memory banks.

It learned that the yellow fuzzy thing was a chick, and other names of animals that it had known but not known exactly what they were. It picked up another book. This was entitled Walter the Farting Dog. The robot did not know the accuracy of the book, and indeed when it checked it learned it was considered fiction.

_Fiction – fantasy, not real. _

_Humans enjoy reading about what is not real. Query...why? _

The robot read on. Most of the books were children's fiction and featured animals doing things that animals did not do, or creatures that did not even exist, according to the Children's Guide to Imaginary Creatures.

When it was finished with that first box of books it held it its memory banks stories of dragons, ducks, dogs and little children. In its mind it felt a new sensation, an urge to read more, to find out more. It searched for a name for this new sensation, and soon hit on a definition that fit.

_Curiosity – the drive to know something, or find something out._

_...One is curious. _

Wolf: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf: I own nothing.

The robot was given the task of accompanying one of the white-coated humans, cooks, to the grocery store to help bring home groceries. The robot noticed the many stares it got walking down the street. There were other robots, but they were different.

_Not unique. One is unique. _The robot thought to itself and incredibly it felt abruptly warm. It understood warm and cold, it knew it could overheat, but this did not feel hazardous to it. All the same it began to run diagnostics on its programming and functioning parts, to be sure.

The cook that was with it did not speak to it unless he had to. He wore the same expression on his face when he looked at the robot that Master Yami did. The robot was beginning to differentiate between different facial expressions, though it had no names for what it was seeing.

The one thing that held its attention was the variety of colours, shapes and sizes human beings seemed to come in. It knew that its masters looked different, but out here there was so much more still. And they were all still the same species. Its logic centers began to make small leaps.

_Look different, same thing. A dog could be a dog even if it is not the brown thing one saw in the book. All animals can look different. Query – why?_

It certainly couldn't ask the cook, who merely grumbled inarticulately when the robot tried to speak to him. The robot turned its attention to the task at hand, soon learning to apply the words it knew to the actual objects. It was one thing to know the meaning of a word, another entirely to be able to see the thing that embodies the name.

When the robot got home Mokuba was sitting in the kitchen, eating some cereal. He watched the robot as it put away the groceries under the instruction of the irate cook. When it was done the robot turned and noticed Mokuba.

"Young Master, good day." The robot said.

"Hey, where were you?" Mokuba asked.

"One was helping with the groceries." The robot replied. "One noticed the many kinds of human beings there are. One noticed that the robots one saw all looked the same, why is that so?"

"Well, it has to do with genetics." Mokuba said, scratching his head. "It's hard to explain, but the way humans, and all living creatures reproduce makes sure that people look different. Robots are made in a factory, using templates, and so they all look the same."

"One does not look like the others." The robot pointed out. "One is unique."

"Only until Seto decides to make more like you." Mokuba replied. The warm feeling, that the robot deemed nonthreatening, vanished, leaving the robot feeling cold at Mokuba's words.

"One has a question."

"Shoot." Mokuba replied through a mouthful of cereal.

"One does not have the proper equipment to shoot."

"No, it's an expression, it means go ahead and tell me what it is you want to say." Mokuba explained with a laugh.

"One wonders why the books in the basement are meant to be thrown out." Mokuba blinked in surprise.

"You went through the boxes?"

"One wished to ascertain as to whether or not anything in them could be salvaged."

"Oh, those books are all baby books, not anything I read anymore. You can get rid of them."

"Is there no one that could benefit from the books? One found them to be very educational."

"You read them?" Mokuba's voice was fraught with disbelief, though the robot had no idea what the higher pitch of his master's voice meant at all.

"Yes, was one not allowed to do that?" The robot asked.

"No, it's fine. I just didn't think that a robot would read."

"Technically one scanned the content of the book. One has surmised that humans' version of reading takes considerable more time."

"Yeah, it does." Mokuba peered at the robot curiously. "How much did you read?"

"One has managed to get through three boxes worth of material in five days. One would have read more, but one is kept busy."

"Do you...enjoy it?"

"Enjoy?" Mokuba however, did not mentally smack himself this time. The robot was exhibiting what he thought was human behaviour, it wasn't just a figment of his imagination.

"Enjoy, as in, you want to do it more and more." A faint sparkle glinted in the robot's eyes briefly. This time Mokuba was sure he had seen it, but as in the last time, it was gone as soon as it came.

"Yes, then Young Master might say that one enjoys reading. One might say one is curious about the works in the books."

"Curious?"

"One wishes to find out more, is that not an accurate description of the word 'curious'?"

"Well, yes, but..." Mokuba hesitated, but continued when he realized he couldn't hurt a robot's feelings. "Curiosity is something that living beings are capable of. I've never heard of a robot that could be curious. It's a feeling, and robots don't have feelings."

"One...understands." The robot said. Mokuba wondered at that moment of hesitation. He thought a moment and then blurted out with

"Is there anything else you...enjoy?" The robot's eyes flickered again.

"Yes, one enjoys checkers." Mokuba grinned broadly.

"Then maybe I should teach you to play chess too."

"Chess is a game?" The robot asked. Mokuba nodded.

"It's a bit like chess, but requires more strategy. It's more of a challenge. Think you're up to it?"

"One is always ready for a challenge." The robot replied.

%&%&%&%

The robot proved to be an attentive and apt pupil and watched with those wide eyes that did not seem so dead anymore somehow as Mokuba played a mock game of chess against himself to show it how to play. When Mokuba was done the robot picked up a pawn, shaped like a little dwarf, and appeared to admire it.

The chess set had been specially made for their family. It was created out of the finest maple wood and carved into intricate shapes. The pawns of course were dwarves. The rooks were griffins, the knights were elvish warriors with swords, the bishops elven priestesses, the queen a unicorn and the king a mighty dragon.

"Ready to play?" Mokuba asked.

"One is ready, Young Master." Mokuba set the pieces and the game was on. At the start the robot was sitting with its legs folded underneath it, but as the game progressed Mokuba saw it cross its legs, imitating him. And when Mokuba cupped his chin in his hand to think of his next move, the robot picked up on it and began to do the same.

"Now what are you doing?" The annoyed and disbelieving moan came from Yami. The robot looked up at him and noticed the same look that the cook had given it earlier. Yami didn't stay long enough for Mokuba to answer.

"What was that expression, on Master Yami's face?" Mokuba turned, astonished at the robot's question.

"I think it was disgust." Mokuba answered honestly.

"Oh, the cook gave one the same look earlier."

"A lot of people still don't like robots." Mokuba explained. "They are afraid of you, I think."

"One is programmed with the three laws, humans have nothing to fear." The robot let out a sound that may have been a sigh. "One does not understand humans." Mokuba pulled a wry smile.

"Join the club."

%&%&%&%

Mokuba knocked on his brother's bedroom door later that night. "Come in." came Seto's voice. Mokuba slipped into the room. Seto looked at him with some surprise. "Mokuba, I thought you would have been in bed already."

"I just wanted to tell you about the robot." Mokuba said breathlessly. Seto gestured for him to go on. "Today, today he exhibited curiosity!"

"Curiosity is human, Mokuba. What you likely saw was its information seeking programming. In order to do what it is told to do, it will seek out all available information on the subject. Is that all?" Mokuba nodded.

"Goodnight, Seto." Seto lifted a hand in an acknowledging gesture as he turned back to his work. Mokuba closed the door and shuffled back to his room.

He didn't think that Seto was right. The robot didn't need to seek out the books for anything, he wanted to read the, plain and simple. Mokuba didn't know why he referred to the robot as male, but in his mind it seemed to fit.

He resolved that he wasn't going to tell Seto anymore when the robot did something that seemed human. Mokuba worried that Seto would think that something was wrong with him and have him decommissioned. Mokuba thought that was unacceptable.

The robot was evolving. It was becoming different. Whether it was because it could learn was irrelevant. The only relevant thing was that it was showing glimmers of humanity and Mokuba found in himself a desire to help the process along.

"You need a name." He murmured to himself as he lay in bed. "A name, because you're not just a thing, not anymore."

Wolf: Review plz!


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf: I own nothing!

"Robot, bring Mokuba up the soup that the cook's made, and careful not to spill it." Seto ordered as he set about gathering all his necessities for work.

"May one enquire as to why Young Master is taking food in his room?" The robot asked.

"He is sick." Seto replied shortly and then walked out the front door. The robot looked after him until the door slammed and then headed to the kitchen. The cook all but threw the tray with the soup at it and yelled at it to get out. The robot complied, keeping its eyes on the ground and tray so as not to drop it.

When it got to Mokuba's room it found him curled up in his bed. "Good morning, Young Master." It said. Mokuba slowly lifted his head and turned over onto his back.

"Depends on what your definition of good is." He said in a hoarse voice.

"What was it that Young Master was doing, lying down like that?"

"I was sleeping."

"Is that how humans recharge?"

"One of the ways, yeah." Mokuba coughed. The robot looked at him closer.

"Is Young Master alright?"

"No, I have a cold."

"Then Young Master should bundle up." Mokuba laughed hoarsely.

"No, silly, a cold is a type of virus that affects my respiratory system." He explained.

"One can get viruses. Does Young Master require a scan?"

"No, humans can't get rid of viruses like machines can. We have to get medicine, or just let it run its course." Mokuba sniffled. "With a cold you just have to bear it until it goes away."

"Oh, Master Seto sent one up with soup. Will that help Young Master recover?"

"It should." Mokuba replied, letting the robot set up the tray on his bed. "I'm stuck in this room all day now." Mokuba said between sips of soup. "Seto doesn't want me contaminating the house."

"Well, one's outer parts are kept sterile so one cannot infect others, or for that matter be infected." Mokuba put down the bowl of soup and peered at the robot.

"Are you saying that you want to stay with me today?"

"If that is what Young Master wishes. One merely got the idea that Young Master wished for company." The robot responded. "Does Young Master wish to play chess?"

Mokuba let out a raspy chuckle. "You just want to play more chess." He teased.

"One only noticed-" The robot seemed to be protesting.

"Come on, tell the truth." Mokuba coaxed. The robot blinked, another human tic it seemed to have picked up, and hesitated a moment.

"Well, yes. One had..."

"Hoped?" The robot blinked again, processers working.

"Hope. Yes, that seems an adequate definition. So, shall we play?"

"Actually, I think we should play something new. You've become too good for me." It was true. In the couple of weeks since Mokuba had taught the robot chess, he had become so good that Mokuba could never beat him.

"Apologies. One can lose sometimes." The robot offered.

"No, it's good to have something you enjoy and are good at." Mokuba replied. "You seem to have a talent for strategy games."

"Talent, yes. One is not using one's robotic capabilities when playing. One has to think, hard, about each move, and it is not always certain to one if one will win. So yes, talent is an adequate definition. What does Young Master wish to play then, if Young Master doesn't wish to play chess?"

Mokuba pulled a pack of cards out from under his pillow. "How about War?"

%&%&%&%

A few hours later Mokuba threw down his cards and sighed. After teaching the robot War, he'd gone on to teach him Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights and even poker. Each game the robot seemed to soak up like a sponge and was winning in no time. Mokuba knew it wasn't the processers, the strategizing complexes in the robot's matrix had been modified to run like a human's and therefore the robot didn't actually have an advantage being a robot.

"Is something wrong, Young Master?" The robot asked. Mokuba thought he seemed worried, though the tone of his voice didn't change.

"No, it's just..." Mokuba shook his head wonderingly. "You really have a knack for games, don't you?"

"One finds them very enjoyable."

"I think you need a name." Mokuba said after a moment of looking at the robot speculatively. He noticed that the eyes didn't seem so dead anymore. There was a light behind them, it was dim, but it was there. It wasn't a solid argument for consciousness, but it was all that Mokuba had to go by.

"But, one is not a living being. Names do not go to non-living beings."

"Actually, I've named all my stuffed animals, and they're not living." Mokuba replied. "Sometimes, when a human develops an attachment to something, they will give names to non-living things."

"And Young Master...feels affection for one?" Mokuba nodded. "What does Young Master wish one's name to be?"

"Yugi." Mokuba replied immediately. "It means game, and since you like games so much, I think it fits nicely."

"Yugi, so that is one's name." Mokuba yawned and pulled the blanket around himself.

"Yeah, listen Yugi, I'm going back to sleep. You can do whatever you want." Yugi bowed and then went to leave. At the door he paused.

"Young Master?" Mokuba lifted his head slightly to look at Yugi. "One has...a request." Mokuba nodded. The robot hesitated, seeming reluctant.

"Come on, you can tell me."

"Well, one has finished all the books in the boxes and one was wondering...if one may also read the books in the library."

"Of course!" Mokuba yelped, startled. "And while we're at it, I'm going to give you permission to use the house's computer, not Seto's or Yami's private one's of course, and the TV, ok?"

"One thanks Young Master." Yugi then walked out of the room. He headed straight for the library. When inside he looked around and walked up to the shelves, picking up a book at random. In a gesture h e had learned from humans he sat down in an armchair, throwing one leg over the other.

He opened the book and was puzzled to find that there were no pictures. But, he began reading anyways and comprehension slowly dawned. The author described everything in such detail that Yugi understood that he was meant to envision what was happening in his mind.

But, as he read more he began to get puzzled again, and then... and then...

_Frustration_ – _a feeling of dissatisfaction and deficiency. _

_...One is frustrated. One does not understand human emotion!_

Wolf: Review plz!


	6. Chapter 6

Wolf: I own nothing.

Mokuba yawned and stretched as he woke up, convinced that chicken noodle soup was a miracle cure. His stuffed up nose felt clear, his throat no longer tickled and he felt ready to take on the world! He sat up and then screamed in surprise.

The robot, Yugi, was standing in the corner of his room, by the door. "What are you doing here?" Mokuba gasped out.

"Apologies, Young Master." Yugi said. "One did not wish to disturb Young Master's rest."

"Okay, okay." Mokuba said, trying to bring his heart rate down. "Just how long have you been standing there?"

"One has been waiting for seven hours now." Yugi replied. Mokuba groaned and looked at the clock. It was mid-afternoon. Seto must have slipped medicine into the soup, he knew Mokuba hated to take it.

"So, what were you waiting for?" Mokuba asked, slipping out of bed and standing up.

"One has a problem." Yugi said and then paused.

"Go ahead." Mokuba coaxed, sensing Yugi was having difficulty deciding if his problem was something to concern his master with.

"Well, one was reading in the library, and one came up upon a block to one's understanding of the material."

"Okay..." Mokuba was puzzled a moment by Yugi's words and then abruptly he understood. "So, why can't you understand what you're reading?"

"One cannot understand human emotion." Yugi said and Mokuba got a sense of extreme frustration from him. He got it too. Unable to understand human emotion Yugi could not grasp the concepts of the story, could not 'envision' how the people reacted or the tone of their voice. In other words, until Yugi could grasp the intricacies of emotion, he could not progress in his learning, and even his evolution.

Mokuba thought long and hard over this. The best way for Yugi to learn emotion was to see it and hear it and then be taught what each meant. Mokuba however knew that this would take forever if he was the one explaining things. He needed some kind of combination of visual and audio to help him. A slow smile crept over his face.

"I think I know how to help you..."

%&%&%&%

Mokuba wandered over to the librarian help desk. "Excuse me?" The grandma-like woman with the curly hair and the gold-rimmed spectacles smiled down at him.

"Yes? What can I do for you young man?"

"I was wondering, do you guys have those audio tapes that go with movies? You know the kind for blind people?"

"Oh, yes, I believe we do." The librarian's eyes twinkled as she smiled. "Is it for a friend?"

"Yes. He needs help to understand his movies, you see." It wasn't totally a lie, Yugi did need help. He just let the nice lady make her own assumptions.

"Well, you're a good friend for helping him out." The librarian chuckled. "What you're looking for is on the shelves beside the DVDs. You can also put holds on others using the online catalogue."

"Thank you ma'am!" Mokuba skipped away, headed for the audiovisual area of the library. He'd chosen to go to the main branch of the city's library, thinking they would have the most of what he wanted. Mokuba had already had Yugi download some books on tape so that he could learn vocal tone. Now all that was needed was for him to learn the expressions that went along with the emotions.

Mokuba gazed at the movies at his disposal. He chose ones that he liked, so that he could watch too. He made sure that they were good ones, and even that some of them were intelligent. He got funny too, because he didn't want to be boring.

As he was heading for the checkout someone caught his eye. He thought the tall, messy blonde boy that was hunched over the table looked familiar. A closer inspection proved his instincts correct.

"Joey, isn't it?" The blonde jumped and looked up with wary honey-coloured eyes.

"Yeah, who's asking?" He said in a tired voice.

"I'm Mokuba Kaiba, remember me? You used to work at my brother's company."

"Oh yeah, so what's happening little man?" Joey asked, rubbing sore eyes.

"Not much. How come you don't work for Seto anymore?"

"He fired me." Joey replied, hunching his shoulders more.

"How come?"

"I'd...rather not talk about." Joey's ears went beet red. "So, you still go to work with him?"

"Naw, too boring."

"Huh, why don't you hang out with your friends?"

"I don't really have any." Mokuba admitted softly. Joey blinked in surprise. "So, what are you doing here?" Mokuba asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, I'm studying for a midterm. I'm taking some courses over at the trades college. Gonna be a mechanic someday." Joey said with obvious pride.

"That's good. Well, I should be going."

"Hey, hold on a second." Joey ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and scribbled something on it. "Here's my number. If you ever need someone to hang around with, don't hesitate to call ok?"

Normally Mokuba was wary of people that gave him a phone number randomly, but something in Joey's earnest, concerned eyes made him pause. Slowly he reached out and took the scrap of paper. Joey grinned and turned back to his work while Mokuba checked out his things.

%&%&%&%

Mokuba headed upstairs at a run, hauling his finds for Yugi to see. Yugi was already in the library, sitting down. The audio tapes were beside him and he had his eyes closed. Those eyes shot open when Mokuba stepped in the room.

"Young Master!" Yugi cried. "One is glad to see you!" Mokuba's jaw dropped in surprise. Yugi was using...vocal tone.

"Is one doing this right?" Yugi asked uncertainly, seeing the look on Mokuba's face.

"No, you are. I just...just wasn't expecting you to catch on so quickly."

"One needs only to download in order to learn." Yugi responded proudly. "One can then sift through those files..."

"Faster than a human being can." Yugi nodded. It was slightly disconcerting to have Yugi's expression not change, but his voice sound so...emotional.

"Is something wrong, Young Master?" Yugi inquired politely. "You have that look on your face you have when you're thinking of something."

"Oh, I was just thinking you need to learn the facial expressions to go along with the tone, if you're going to use it."

"One is ready to learn." Yugi responded eagerly. Mokuba giggled and then a niggling little thought gave him pause. What if Seto didn't like that Yugi could show emotion? What if he decided to get rid of him? And then there was Yami. He would really freak if Yugi started talking to him with tone in his voice.

"Yugi, can you do something for me?"

"Yes, Young Master?"

"I need you to only show what you've learned from me around me ok, not around Seto or Yami."

"Young Master wishes one to... hide one's new knowledge of human emotion?" Yugi sounded surprised. "But, why?"

"I'm not sure they'll understand and I don't want them to have you decommissioned or something, ok?"

"Yes, one understands. Okay." Yugi replied softly. "Has Young Master got more things for one to learn?" Mokuba laughed.

"Oh boy, do I ever!"

Wolf: Review plz!


	7. Chapter 7

Wolf: I own nothing.

Yugi was in a haze of learning, dazzled by everything he now knew. Facial expressions, vocal tone, body language and how they all tied together to create something so complex, so amazing; emotion! Yugi had learned that one facial expression could mean any number of different things when combined with tone of voice. It was so complex, and yet so wonderfully simple at the same time.

_Of course humans could not have a different facial expression for every emotion, there were too many for that, and there were only so many ways their faces could move. But so much of human communication was non-verbal, so one could not ignore the body language either. It was all so fascinating, all so...beautiful._

"Yugi?" Yugi's head snapped up from where it had been resting on his knees as he sat in front of the now blank television screen to regard Mokuba with surprise.

"Young Master." He yelped. "One did not hear you come in." Mokuba grinned.

"You must have been lost in your thoughts." He giggled. Yugi smiled, it was a sweet smile, especially when combined with the now brilliant light shining in his previously dead eyes.

"One believes that to be correct."

"Well, I have something for you; a book that I think you should read." Mokuba said, and laid down a small, hardbound book at the end table nearest to Yugi. "I think though it's time to say goodnight, it's awfully late."

Yugi glanced at the clock on the mantle and nodded. "Yes, indeed it is, and I must recharge for the morning." Yugi got up and traced his hand over the cover of the book. With a reluctant sigh he left it there and headed for the door.

"Yugi, you can take the book with you." Yugi turned and looked at Mokuba.

"Oh no, Young Master. It would be far too tempting for one to read instead of recharge. No, one will leave it here, and will find it again in the morning." Mokuba nodded at the logic and Yugi smiled briefly before disappearing out the door and heading to the basement.

As he plugged in for the night he paused, head tilted as he thought for a moment. Then, slowly and carefully, so as not to dislodge his cable, he lowered himself to the floor and lay down on his back. His final act before turning off most of his auxiliary systems was to close his eyes, pantomiming sleep.

%&%&%&%

For Mokuba, however, sleep was merely an illusion as his mind scurried this way and that. Would Yugi, even with his knowledge of human emotion, be able to understand the books he could now read? Could he understand the analogies, references and other things in stories that humans took for granted that they would be understood?

Mokuba finally sighed and got up. There was only one person that could answer the questions he had, and that was his brother. "Seto?" Seto looked up from his computer as Mokuba came into his bedroom.

"What are you still doing up Mokuba?"

"Oh, I've just been reading a lot, lost track of the time." Mokuba lied. "I've been reading a lot of science fiction, and some of it centered around machines getting human emotions and sort of becoming human." Seto gestured for him to go on. "But it seemed to me that the machines always had far too much understanding too quick about how humans and the world worked."

"That is something people have noted." Seto agreed. "But, what is your point?"

"Well, I was wondering, would there be a way to teach a machine all it needed to know to function like a human being, and quickly too?" Seto paused and turned away from the computer.

"I suppose you could take it to a number of websites on the internet that are devoted to learning." He turned again to the computer, bringing up the browser. "Here, let me show you..."

%&%&%&%

Yugi headed upstairs immediately the next day after going to get the groceries. He had been thinking about the book the whole time, and at one point the idea had occurred to him to simply forget the groceries and go home. But, his programming would not have allowed him to do that and so he was forced to be patient.

"Hold on Yugi." Mokuba yelped as Yugi came into the library and immediately headed for his book. Yugi looked up, puzzled. "You can read it soon, I just think you need a little more education first." Yugi nodded and walked over to where Mokuba was sitting at the computer. "Is there some way you can connect to the computer?"

"Yes, one has porting capabilities." Yugi replied. He tapped his ear and it slid back, revealing a port. He pulled on the port, revealing the cable it attached to, and connected it to the computer.

"Ok, if I direct you to a website, will you be able to navigate it on your own?"

"Yes, one can do that." Yugi replied. Mokuba grinned and then typed into the computer. The homepage for Cyc came up.

"Ok, go for it." Mokuba sat back and watched in stunned amazement as the screen flickered through pages faster than his eye could follow. Cyc was a website actually designed by a man that was looking out for intelligent artificial life forms to link into it. It was a knowledge base that derived further assumptions about subjects as the man, or machine read further. For example, given information that most sleep at night and people don't want to be disturbed while sleeping, if asked what kind of call is alright to make at three am, Cyc would offer "an urgent one..."

Yugi was done with it in moments and Mokuba directed him to the next site he had on his list. It was a dictionary. Yugi went through this quicker than the first and Mokuba quickly moved on. He linked onto the WorldNet database and allowed Yugi to absorb the hierarchial organization of 150,000 sets of cognitive synonyms, each expressing a distinct concept.

Yugi was done in no time and Mokuba sighed, turning off the browser. Yugi blinked and unplugged his port, hiding it back in his head.

"One understands why Young Master has shown one these." Yugi said slowly. "Without the information in those websites, one could not have understood the material of the books one was planning to read, correct?"

"Correct." Mokuba said and then handed Yugi's new book to him. "Here, you can read this now."

"Thank you, Young Master." Yugi said and took the book. The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller, it was called.

"Who is Helen Keller?" Yugi asked. "One should have some background before reading, yes?" Mokuba explained a little bit about Helen Keller and then left Yugi to it. Yugi was slow in reading, not because it took him long to assimilate each page, but because he paused after each chapter, thinking. It wasn't enough for him to simply have the information, he needed to analyse it, try to understand what the book was trying to tell him. It was a strangely engaging and challenging task at times and Yugi relished every moment of it.

%&%&%&%

Yami eased his motorcycle into the garage of the mansion. Taking his rucksack off the back he headed back out. He stared up at the bruised, purple-black clouds inching their way menacingly across the sky. The wind whipped his spiked, tri-coloured hair about and grabbed at his jacket, trying to pluck it from his body. A low rumble like the growl of a dog got him moving, anxious to avoid getting wet.

As he hurried into the house big, fat drops of rain began to fall from the sky, landing with a machine gun-like rattle on the ground, roof and everything in between. Yami discarded his black leather jacket and headed upstairs to the library.

In the half darkness he ran his hand over the spines of the books on the shelves, breathing in the musty, dusty scent. Thunder rumbled and a flash of lightning lit up the sky far off. Yami glanced down to see a book laid carefully on the arm of one of the chairs. He smiled, thinking Mokuba had been there. A boom of thunder shook the house.

"What was that?" The soft, half-fearful, half amazed voice was unfamiliar to Yami, and yet he thought he'd heard it before. He looked around, but saw no one, until the lightning illuminated a shape standing by the window. Yami stiffened when he realized it was the robot.

"What are you doing here?" Yami asked harshly. The robot turned, and Yami was almost certain there was surprise in its eyes. Lightning flashed and he closed his eyes against the glare. When he opened them Yugi was staring at him with that same expressionless look he always had. "I asked what you were doing here, robot."

"One was wondering what that is." Yugi answered, pointing out into the storm.

"It's a thunderstorm, and the noise is thunder."

"And the light?"

"That's lightning." Yami answered shortly. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" Yugi blinked, and Yami thought that it was a curiously human thing to do.

"Yes, one needs to go recharge. Thank you, Master Yami, for reminding one of that." Yugi bowed low and, giving Yami a wide berth, exited the room.

He made his way down to the basement, feeling puzzled by his reactions to Yami. When Yami had been looking at him he'd felt a curiously warm sensation permeate his body, along with an odd fluttering sensation inside his abdomen. He had no idea what the ticklish little sensations meant, but supposed he'd puzzle them out in time.

He plugged himself in and went to lie down. Just as he was doing that an enormous clap of thunder rattled the house and a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, hitting the house. The power instantly went out.

Yugi, however, experienced a different kind of blackout. As the lightning struck, it travelled through the wiring and into Yugi's body plugged into the wall. His mouth opened in a silent scream and his whole body went rigid as the electricity jumped through his body.

_!_

Yugi's body crumpled to the floor in a dead heap and Yugi soon felt the pain, and everything else, just disappear into a pool of inky blackness that seemed to rise up to meet him...

Wolf: The websites and the book referenced in this chapter I got from the book Wake by Robert J. Sawyer. In this story a young girl uses these websites to help an artificial intelligence learn about the world. The book The Story of My Life, is referenced several times in the story and feeds upon the theme of growth and self-discovery. For all the sci-fi fans out there, I seriously recommend Mr. Sawyer's work. Now, review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf: I own nothing

_Floating...nothingness surrounding...but wait! Some form of light manifests itself in front of me. A reflective surface, but it is not reflecting me. Rather it shows me a young human, a young human with the same colour eyes as I have._

_I look more closely at him. His hair is spiked and in three colours; red on the edges, black for the body, and soft golden bangs. It looks rather like Master Yami's hair, except softer. His skin is pale but looks soft. He looks at me with a mysterious smile and a cocked head._

"_Who are you?" I hear myself ask. The boy laughs, a bright, sweet sound._

"_I am you." He said. _

"_You cannot be, I am a robot." His human reflection laughed once more as he starts to fade, as everything seems to fade._

"_Perhaps, perhaps not." Came the faint answer, sounding far away as I am pulled into an increasing brightness..._

The brightness manifests itself as the basement light, shining brightly above him. Yugi blinked and slowly tried to sit up.

"Wh-what ha-ha-ha-happened?" He asked, noticing that there seemed to be something wrong with his vocal units.

"You were electrocuted." Yugi turned to see Seto sitting by him, computer on his lap. Yugi's port was connected to the computer, and from his angle he could just see diagnostic protocols being run on him. His cable was still attached to the wall, though it looked charred and would probably have to be replaced.

Of course Yugi knew what electrocution meant and he also knew full well that he was still lucky to be running. "Do-does one re-re-re-require maintenance?" He asked Seto. Seto didn't answer him, and Yugi remembered that the older Kaiba would not talk to him like Mokuba did. He fell silent, worried that persistence might be seen as anomalous and grounds for decommissioning.

"What happened?" Yugi turned his head slightly to watch Mokuba bounce down the stairs, an expression of worry on his face. Yugi gave him what he hoped was a quick, reassuring smile and then schooled his face back to blankness.

"The lightning bolt that struck the house went through it." Seto said, finishing up his scans and putting his computer away. "Don't worry, it only needs a new cable and some repairs to its vocal processors. I've already told the technicians, they'll be here in half an hour. I'm going to work now."

"Okay, Seto." Mokuba stood on tiptoes to hug him and then knelt beside Yugi when he left. "Are you ok, Yugi?"

"One experienced pain." Yugi replied softly. "It was not pleasant." Mokuba smiled slightly.

"It isn't supposed to be."

"One also thinks that one dreamed while offline." This visibly startled Mokuba.

"You...dreamed? Of what?" Yugi relayed the strange dream to Mokuba, who sat, dumbstruck through the entire thing.

"What does it mean?" Yugi asked helplessly after he was done.

"I don't really know. The thing about dreams is, they don't always have a meaning." But Mokuba felt that he did have an idea of what the dream was all about. It seemed like a prophetic dream, showing Yugi a glimpse of the future. Unlike his brother, Mokuba had a firm belief in the supernatural and even gods.

He thought that someone was trying to help Yugi's changes along by sending him this dream, giving him a vision of what could be. Mokuba chose not to share this view with Yugi, partly because he didn't think that Yugi would understand, and partly because he thought Yugi needed to figure out who he was on his own.

A knock at the door interrupted these musings. "That must be the technicians, I'll go get them, you stay here." Mokuba ran up the stairs and got the door. He came back down with a pair of men in coveralls. They did not look at Yugi or speak to him at all as they did their repairs.

Mokuba saw an odd, lonely expression cross Yugi's face as they worked. He felt bad for Yugi, all this time Mokuba treated him like a person, and then everyone else just treated him like an appliance. When the technicians were done they simply left. Yugi sat up with a sigh.

"You okay, Yugi?" Yugi turned to him with anguished eyes.

"One is not sure anymore who one is." He replied, sounding sadly confused. "One feels like a person sometimes, but knows that one is a robot, and not living. But one cannot deny that one feels things, often one doesn't understand the feelings, but one still has them. One is terribly confused."

"I know, I know." Mokuba said, reaching out and patting Yugi's shoulder. "It probably doesn't help that I treat you like a person, does it?" Yugi shook his head glumly. Mokuba sighed. "Why don't you go upstairs and read?"

%&%&%&%

Yami idly played with the chess set in the library as he finished his cumulative paper for one of his summer courses. He ran his hand over the ornate pieces, and playfully put one of the black pawns in play. He sighed and stood up. He needed his printer to finish up with his paper, and that was in his room.

When he came back to the library afterwards he paused. Someone had taken a white pawn, and put it in play. Yami sat down, staring at the piece as though it held the secrets of the universe. Then he shrugged, figuring Mokuba had seen it and had decided to play too. Yami reached out and made another move, wanting to see if this little game would continue.

All the sudden a long, drawn out sigh reached his ears from the library shelves. Yami frowned and followed the source of the sound. He was startled to find Yugi standing at one of the bookshelves, staring at the books.

"What are you doing?" Yami's voice cut through Yugi's inability to decide and he turned to Yami, unable to hide the surprise on his face for a moment. Yami's eyebrow twitched, but he gave no indication that he'd seen anything unusual. Yugi stared at Yami with mild dismay. The fluttering sensation was back and it was stronger this time.

"I asked you a question, now answer me, robot." Yami ordered. Yugi hesitated, he didn't think that Yami would like that he was looking for his own book to read.

"One was looking for a book for Young Master, but one does not know what Young Master wants to read." Yugi said slowly. Yami stared at him for a moment before taking a book off the shelf.

"He likes this sort of thing." He said and then dismissed Yugi. Yugi bowed slightly and seemed to hurry off. Yami stood there, watching the robot's retreating back with a slight frown. It seemed to act more...human these days, this was the second time Yami had seen him use human expressions. What was more was that Yugi seemed to be trying to hide it, as though afraid.

Yami shook his head and grabbed a book from the shelf, heading back to his comfy armchair. He stared at the chess set a moment, a niggling idea forming in his head. What if it hadn't been Mokuba who had made the move, what if it had been the robot?

Yami chuckled at himself immediately. He was becoming paranoid. The robot would not have done something it had not been ordered to do. But, the thought still persisted and Yami found himself almost too unsettled by it to truly enjoy his book.

%&%&%&%

Yugi hugged the book to himself as he headed to the basement. His thoughts were racing and all he could think about was the fact that Yami's hand had actually touched his as he had handed the book to him. Why this was so important to him he had no idea, but it was and it was driving him crazy!

He took a look at the book title as he got down the stairs. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton, it was called. Yugi read the back and decided it did indeed look interesting.

Before he sat down to read however a thought gave him pause. He'd lied to Yami, about the book, he should not have been able to do that. The second law said he could protect himself, but not in conflict with the first law, which stated he had to do what a human told him to do. But, he had indeed broken the first law.

_So then, the question is, what exactly is one?_

Wolf: Review plz!


	9. Chapter 9

Wolf: I own nothing!

"_One does understand this." I stare at my human reflection, watching as I put up a hand and the reflection does the same._

"_You are becoming Yugi." My reflection says gently. "You feel it don't you? You know that you are not as you once were. The one before was your Phantom, like Helen Keller's existence before she gained words, and now, you are blossoming, becoming."_

"_Becoming what?" I ask desperately. "One cannot be human, one is a robot."_

"_Ah yes, but what exactly does it mean to be human?" His reflection asks. "And Yugi, you should refer to yourself as I, not 'one'. You are not a thing anymore." _

"_But then what am I?" I cried, distraught. My reflection began to fade away again, just as he did the first time._

"_You have to figure that one out for yourself." His voice whispered in my head as darkness turned to light..._

Yugi slowly and reluctantly opened his eyes, trying to hold onto the dream a little longer. It unnerved him, but also strangely enough the sight of his human reflection comforted him. He sighed and sat up from where he had been lying on the ground.

More than anything he just wanted to think about the dream and what it could mean. But, unfortunately he had to go upstairs and receive his duties for the day from Seto. Part of him considered not going, but Yugi knew that he had to keep up pretences, at least when it came to Seto or Yami. Mokuba he was free to be himself with, but that was it.

Silently he trudged upstairs for his orders. There was two of them, getting the groceries and then cleaning the library. Yugi didn't notice Yami crossing to the stairs, and so he didn't know that Yami saw him slump his shoulders and groan, much like a reluctant child. He also didn't see the puzzled and intrigued look cross Yami's face as Yugi slowly headed out the front door, dawdling as much as possible.

Yugi walked quickly to the grocery store, disliking the curious and distasteful stares aimed his way from the humans walking the street. They had never bothered him before, but he supposed he did not have the emotion or the knowledge to understand what the stares told him, and why it could hurt and upset him. 

It was almost better, he thought, to be ignorant of these things. That way, they couldn't hurt you. But then, Yugi would never have experienced any of the wonderful things that he had, including the ability to display his emotions. It seemed very confusing, these changes in him.

As he thought these things he became aware that he had made it to the grocery store and was in the process of inspecting and placing things in his cart. He had not entirely consciously done all that, but it seemed he had been acting mechanically. What an ironic thing, that humans used a word that could be attributed to machines when they acted automatically, without conscious thought.

He hurried about his task, not wanting to stay outside the house anymore than he had to. It scared him out here, and he very much disliked the strange feeling that his insides were sort of rolling around. He finished with the groceries, making sure not to make eye contact with the goggle-eyed cashier and left as fast as his feet could carry him.

He quickly put away all the food, careful not to get in the way of any of the cooks. Even so they muttered darkly in his presence, uneasy with him. Yugi could hear their words, but knew that they thought he didn't understand. It didn't make it any easier to hear the things they said, and Yugi quickly exited, heading for the relative safety of the library.

As he headed inside with a duster, spray bottle and a cloth he paused, looking at the chess set. Setting down his cleaning tools he wandered over. Tilting his head he considered what move he should make. A hand reached out and placed a pawn in a new place. Yugi gave a satisfied smile and went on with his work.

A few minutes later a sound came to his ears and he halted in mid-dust. The sound appeared to be a lyrical progress of sound, that when strung together created a pleasing creation. Yugi slowly realized that what he was hearing was music, and, it was beautiful.

Yugi found himself moving, unconsciously, towards the enticing sound. He soon found that it was Yami, fingers tapping across the white and black pieces of a large construction that was bigger than a man. Each sound, each note resonated from this thing as Yami pushed down on the pieces. Yugi soon realized that there was a different note for each piece that he pressed.

Suddenly Yami tensed, seeming to feel he was being watched. He turned and when his gaze saw Yugi his face hardened a little. Yugi backed off a couple steps, a little scared of this man.

"What are you doing here?" Yami asked, voice a deep rumble. The voice sent shivers through Yugi's body, though he was not cold at all.

"I was just wondering what that was." Yugi answered with a faint stutter. Yami raised an eyebrow.

"This is a piano." He said. "It plays music, but I don't expect you to understand that."

"And Master Yami makes that music by pressing on those pieces?" Yugi asked, pointing at the black and white pieces.

"Those are called keys, and they vibrate strings in the piano that play the pitch that you hear."

"Oh." Yugi said simply, blinking at the piano. "May I try?" Yami's eyebrow lifted further, but he indicated for Yugi to sit down at the piano anyways. Yugi slowly walked over and sat down at the little bench in front of the piano.

Reaching out, he tapped one of the keys, hearing the piano emit a high pitch. He tried one further left on the piano; it made a lower sound. Yugi placed his finger at the far right and pushed each key down in order from right to left. It created a scale of descending notes.

"Fascinating." He murmured. Yami watched Yugi's back with interest as he experimented with the sounds the piano could make. This seemed to him like something that a robot was not supposed to do. Yugi seemed to be displaying curiosity, as well as interest in certain things. He considered telling Seto about it, but decided not to, Seto would just simply think he was being paranoid again.

All the sudden Yugi paused and took his hands off the keys. Without a word he stood up and walked for the door. "Where are you going?" Yugi was surprised at the slightly confused tone of Yami's voice. He turned slightly to look at him. There was no hostility in Yami's face, though he was frowning slightly.

"I have not finished my work." Yugi said in reply and then hurried back to the library. As he continued with his dusting he realized something with a jolt; he'd been referring to himself as an 'I'! He'd done it without thinking too. What did it mean? Was he really 'becoming' like his dream reflection had told him?

All Yugi knew was that he was 'becoming' more and more confused by the day. He smiled unconsciously, having made a slight joke. His smile then faded as his thoughts returned to his position. He had no idea what he was doing anymore. Slowly he sank into the nearest armchair and put his head in his hands, trying vainly to shut out the world.

"Yugi, what are you doing?" Yugi lifted his head to find Mokuba standing there with a concerned expression on his face.

"Oh, Master Mokuba, I am so confused." Yugi wailed softly. Mokuba blinked, sparing only a moment to notice Yugi was using personal pronouns, and then got on one knee, placing a hand on Yugi's shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

"I just don't know anymore." Yugi shook his head slowly. "I cannot be human because I am a robot, but I don't feel like a robot."

Mokuba felt helpless in the wake of Yugi's stress and heartache. How cruel it must be to be one thing, but feel another way. And how much more cruel for that person to not even understand what they were feeling, so they did not even have the comfort of striving towards becoming that thing.

To Mokuba being human was about more than looks, or even DNA. Being human was a state of being, a state that Yugi was quickly achieving. It was about understanding love, and hate, of being capable of ignoring instinct and following one's heart instead of one's mind. But, how was he to explain to Yugi that though his body was not human, his heart was?

Quietly Mokuba got up and searched the bookshelves for a story that he knew that Yugi would be able to relate to. As soon as he found it he raced back to Yugi, who had hidden his face in his hands once more.

"Here Yugi, I think you should read this." Perplexed, Yugi reached out and took the book from Mokuba. It was fairly old, with a bright, prettily coloured picture on the front clearly meant to catch the attention of a child. The title read... Pinocchio.

Wolf: Review plz!


	10. Chapter 10

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yugi placed the story of Pinocchio aside and cupped his face in his hand, propping his elbow up on the arm of his chair. His eyes stared fixedly at the air in front of him, and Mokuba was silent, understanding that Yugi needed to think. Mokuba was slightly unnerved by the way Yugi sat so still, no shifting to gain a more comfortable position, no mindless tics like scratching or playing with hair, not even the slow steady inhale and exhale.

It was moments like these that gave Mokuba doubt. These moments in which Yugi looked all robot, and there was no indication of the soul within, and Mokuba was certain there was a soul there. There was someone in those purple eyes, someone that hadn't been there in the beginning, when he was first activated.

Could a soul be grown? Could something that did not have a soul initially gain one as time went on? It certainly seemed that way. Yugi was a study in the potential for machinery to evolve, to 'become' as Yugi's dream reflection would say. Hadn't human beings long since debated this? Ever since there have been smart machines people have written books, and created movies about a so-called human in robot form, and even before that. After all, what was Pinocchio but a primitive robot?

Yugi sighed softly and looked up at Mokuba. "I think I understand why Young Master showed me this book."

"Do you?" Mokuba asked hopefully, waiting for Yugi to continue as he sank into an armchair beside the human-robot. Yugi nodded slightly and stared out into the setting sun. Once again Mokuba was painfully aware of the mechanized shell that encased Yugi.

"Pinocchio strove to become human, to become a real boy, but in reality, as shown by his actions, he was a real boy all along." He hesitated a moment. "The only thing not human about him was the shell he inhabited. He is like me, but also not like me, because he was human the whole time, whereas I have had to become human, and still am becoming."

"Yeah, yeah you are." Mokuba agreed softly.

"The story implies that being human is more than being physically human. There is something living beings have that makes them different from a machine, and humans seem to be even more different from their fellow animals still." Mokuba nodded slightly.

"It's called a soul." He told Yugi. "It is our very essence, who we are. No one knows what it looks like, but it is in every atom of our body, and when we die, our souls, the root of who we are really, escapes the body."

"And you believe that I have a soul?"

"I do. You can be living without a soul, but you cannot really live." Yugi cocked his head, frowning slightly in confusion. "Without the soul we just simply follow the basic needs of our body, and the lower functions of our minds, so we could potentially do things, but it is as if we ourselves would be robots. The soul is where creativity, curiosity, cruelty, love, free will and all other emotions come from. Without it we are nothing but shells."

"I think I understand." Yugi said slowly. "I have a soul, and that is what makes me an 'I', not a 'one'."

"Yeah, you got it!" Mokuba cried happily.

"But then, what do I do?" Yugi asked softly. "I am a human trapped in a metallic body. What do I do with myself? It is not as though a fairy godmother is going to appear to me and grant me complete humanity, and if I show that I am in fact 'living' I will likely be met with fear and possibly death."

"That's true." Mokuba admitted with a heavy heart. "But you know what? If you stay here with me, and make sure to not let people figure out that you are actually intelligent, I can protect you and be the one person you can be yourself with." Yugi smiled wanly.

"Thank you Young Master." He said. "I feel...a connection to you, affection towards you." Mokuba chuckled.

"You feel friendship. You consider me your friend." Mokuba clarified.

"A friend, yes that seems correct." Yugi said softly.

"And friends call each other by name." Mokuba continued. "So, at least while we are alone, you should call me Mokuba."

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked, eyes wide. Mokuba nodded. "Then thank you, Mokuba." He sighed and put his head down once more. "Do you mind, Mokuba? I think I'd like to be alone for awhile." Mokuba nodded and stood up, walking from the library.

He was mildly disappointed, he'd wanted to play with Yugi for awhile, and now there was no one to hang out with. He walked back into his room and sat down at his desk. A piece of paper affixed to his bulletin board caught his attention. Reading the numbers upon it he remembered Joey's offer to him.

He took the paper down and grabbed his phone, dialling the number with a pounding heart. On the second ring it was picked up.

"Hi, Joey? It's Mokuba..."

%&%&%&%

Several weeks passed in which not a whole lot happened, or so it seemed on the surface. Yugi went about his chores, often fighting the urge to just simply not do the boring ones, and read as much as he could. He had read through most of the Kaiba's private library at this point.

He had read novels, graphic novels, textbooks on everything from biology to psychology, poetry, Shakespeare, and so much more. Interspersed with this was his ongoing anonymous chess match with Yami. Yami he found, was a skilled opponent, and he forced Yugi to use all his skills and even to develop new ones.

Mokuba for his part continued to help Yugi grow as a person, figuring out what he liked and disliked. While things involving most of the senses eluded Yugi, Mokuba found that art and colour appealed greatly to the robot. As did the sound of music, and he would often find Yugi standing in the hallway, listening as Yami played his piano. Games and reading also took high priority on Yugi's likes list.

On his dislikes, Yugi hated thunderstorms now. Just the merest rumble would send him into a case of the shakes. If one rolled in the night he'd refuse to recharge. Mokuba couldn't blame him, the first thunderstorm he'd ever been in he'd almost died...well the robot equivalent of dying, anyways.

Mokuba also nursed a budding friendship with Joey Wheeler, his brother's former employee. The older teen had been in a gang a couple years back, before cleaning himself up, and so taught Mokuba how to defend himself. Mokuba liked hanging out with Joey, because Joey didn't expect him to be smart, or stay quiet when he was talking.

As for Yami, he continued to observe Yugi in secret. He found Yugi very interesting when the robot thought no one was around. He observed inquisitiveness, and a slight lazy streak, along with a bookworm's adoration of literature. Yami kept these things to himself, fascinated despite himself. He was unwilling to admit however that he liked the little robot.

On a day like any other Yugi wandered outside after his chores were done, to have another look at Yami's beautiful flowers. It was nearing nightfall, and the sky was streaked with pink, orange and indigo, the same colour as Yugi's eyes. It was a lovely sight.

For some unknown reason Yugi turned to the house and then stopped dead. There, standing on the second floor balcony, was Yami, staring out at the sunset. The light hit his face, accenting his chiselled, handsome features and turning his eyes into crimson flames in his face. Unbidden, a line came to Yugi:

_But soft; what light through yonder window breaks?_

All at once Yugi understood the strange feelings that plagued him every time Yami was around him, and a mixture of exhilaration and horror swept over him.

_My god, I am in love with him!_

Wolf: Review plz!


	11. Chapter 11

Wolf: I own nothing!

_I love him, I love him, I can't love him!_

So intent on his tormented thoughts was Yugi that he didn't see Seto until he ran into him. He bounced back slightly, disoriented, and then froze, uncertain of how to proceed. Seto glared down at him, the same way he would glare at a faulty computer.

"Oh great, are you having issues now?" Seto groused, rubbing his chest. "Maybe I should do diagnostic."

"That should not be necessary Master. One has only had a diagnostic run this morning. Everything is fine, only a momentary slip." Yugi said in his best robotic voice. It was getting more difficult to manufacture the sound, partly because Yugi hated it. He didn't want Seto doing any sort of diagnostic, not sure what the CEO would find in his changing mind.

"Well, alright then." Seto grumbled reluctantly. "You can bring Yami to me, I need to speak with him." Yugi bowed and walked off, feeling his legs go slightly rubbery with relief. He could hear Yami playing the piano now, and so he headed upstairs, insides doing flip-flops.

He found Yami at the piano, eyes closed as he played Beethoven's fifth with elegance and grace. Yugi's eyes travelled over the handsome face and the well-muscled body, admiring his tanned skin from afar. Shaking his head he brought himself out of his little daydreams, knowing he could not afford to slip up around Yami.

"Master Yami?" Yami looked up and found Yugi staring at him, almost shyly, from the doorway. He frowned slightly, usually Yugi started asking questions immediately, or asked to play, but this time the robot was silent, waiting for him.

"What is it, robot?" Yami asked finally, and Yugi's knees went weak at the sound of his deep, beautiful voice.

"Master Seto wishes to see Master Yami." Yugi worked on making sure his voice didn't shake. Yami only nodded at him and placed the cover over the keys. He stood up and brushed by Yugi, so close that Yugi would have been able to smell his cologne if he could smell.

And then Yami was gone and Yugi collapsed to the ground, shaking like a leaf. He was experiencing far more powerful emotions that he'd ever had and they frightened, but also elated him. His body felt abuzz, a pleasant and strangely aching feeling that resonated through his core.

"Yugi, what are you doing on the floor?" Yugi looked up to find Mokuba looking down at him curiously. Yugi smiled slightly.

"How many times have you found me in a situation similar to this?" He asked, trying to be playful, but his voice shook slightly, and Mokuba began to look anxious.

"Are you ok, Yugi?" Yugi's smile faded and his eyes took on a desperate cast.

"Mokuba, I'm in real trouble now." He said, voice wobbling. Mokuba looked around and then hauled Yugi to his feet. He led Yugi down the hall to his room and sat him down on the bed.

"What exactly is wrong?" He asked, pulling up his desk chair in front of the bed, turning it around and straddling it backwards, resting his chin on the backrest. Yugi paused and tried to collect himself a moment before speaking.

"I think I'm in love with Yami." He finally said, speaking in a quick murmur. Mokuba froze, min unable to process what Yugi had said for a couple minutes.

"Did you...did you just say what I think you said?" He asked, voice confused and slightly afraid.

"Yes." Yugi looked at him nervously, not liking the tone of voice.

"Oh gods, this is horrible. Do you have any idea of how stupid people in love can be?" Mokuba asked, getting up and beginning to pace. Yugi laughed nervously.

"Is that what you're worried about?" he asked.

"Yeah, what did you think?" Mokuba asked.

"I thought you were going to have me killed or something." Yugi answered truthfully. Mokuba looked shocked and hurt.

"Why would you ever think that?" Yugi looked away, ashamed that he would think that.

"I don't know." He mumbled uncomfortably. "Paranoia, I guess. I'm sorry, you're my friend, you wouldn't do anything to hurt me." Mokuba's hurt look melted away and he smiled.

"Well, glad that's cleared up. As for this current little problem, I really don't know if there can be anything done. Love isn't something you can just get rid of. You're just going to have to be extra careful about how you act around Yami from now on."

&%&%&%&

In the days to pass Yugi found himself counting out the things he liked about Yami. He liked the way Yami played his piano with such passion, and his care for his flowers. He liked the fact that Yami was friendly with him, if in a sort of detached way.

He liked the way Yami took time to answer Mokuba's questions, and even play with the younger boy when he had time. He liked the way Yami would narrow his eyes as he pondered his next move in a game. Yami was as much a game lover as Yugi was, and he liked that about him too.

He had tried to avoid Yami for the most part these past couple weeks, only interacting with him out of necessity. Yugi knew from reading Yami's facial expressions that he was confused by this change of behaviour, but Yugi could not risk exposing himself in any way. He still played his secret chess game with Yami, it was contact enough for now.

Pausing in his search for a new book Yugi contemplated his next move on the chessboard, idly playing with the top of the bishop. "So, it's been you, has it?" Yugi gasped and whirled at the voice, to find Yami standing there, watching him with an appraising expression. "Well?" Yami asked when Yugi failed to answer him.

"Yes, Master Yami, I have been the one playing the game."

"You are a skilled opponent." Yami's voice was lazy, interested, and he kept his gaze fixed on Yugi. 'But, I supposed you are equipped with fancy strategy software."

"No, Master Yami. I was not equipped with any kind of program software, in order to see just what I can learn." Yugi answered.

"Hmm, seems you've kept this to yourself though." Yami moved forward until he and Yugi were almost nose to nose. Yami was only a few inches taller than Yugi, and Yugi was finding it impossible to look away from those mesmerizing ruby eyes. "What else are you hiding?" Yami's voice was soft, coaxing, and as Yugi drowned in that smouldering gaze he was helpless to not answer.

"I am in love with you." His voice came out slow and mesmerized, as though in a trance. Though barely above a whisper Yami flinched back as if Yugi had yelled in his face and he stared at the little robot, horrified.

"What did you just say?" He asked, voice a choked whisper. "Gods, I knew it. There's something wrong with you." He backed away from Yugi.

"Master, please." Yugi couldn't stop his emotions from tumbling out now, they had been locked up too long. "I'm not just a robot anymore, I have a soul, I'm human! I just don't look like it, please understand me." He stretched his arms out to Yami, who only stumbled back another step.

"You stay right there." He ordered and then all but ran out of the room. Yugi listened to his retreating footsteps and then bolted from the room. He knew with everything in his mind that Yami had gone to Seto to tell him the robot had gone haywire. Yugi would be decommissioned, killed. He had to get away.

"Mokuba!" He cried, barging into the boy's room. Mokuba sat bolt upright from where he'd been reading lying down on his bed.

"Yugi! What's going on?" He yelped at the expression of outright terror on Yugi's face.

"Mokuba, I did something very, very bad." Yugi quickly relayed what had just happened while Mokuba's eyes got wider and his skin went paler.

"Oh, this is so bad." Mokuba said, flopping back down on the bed. "So very, very bad." Yugi sat down too, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"I wish I could cry." He whispered softly.

"What's that?"

"I wish I could cry. I cannot express the emotions I'm feeling right now, and it's killing me. It...hurts...so much." He whimpered. Mokuba sat up and wrapped his arms around Yugi.

"It'll be ok." He soothed. "I just need to think of a place where you can go..." he trailed off, having thought of something. He was up and at his desk in a flurry of movement, taking out a map of the city and writing on it.

He ran back to Yugi and plunked the open map in his lap. It showed a dark, pencilled line running along some streets. At the end of this line, which started at the Kaiba mansion, there was an address pencilled in.

"Here's what you have to do." Mokuba said, speaking hurriedly. He knew they didn't have much time to get Yugi away from here. "You follow the path I've marked on the map right to that address." He said, tapping the map. "The guy that lives there is named Joey Wheeler, he's my friend. Tell him I sent you and that he needs to call me, you got that?"

Yugi nodded, eyes wide with fear. "And I'm to do this...alone?" He asked in a squeaky voice. Mokuba nodded.

"It would look too suspicious if I came with you." He explained. "You'll be fine, don't worry." He glanced around and then opened his window. "There's a ledge outside here, and it's only a short drop from there."

Yugi reluctantly walked over to the window and straddled it. He looked one last time back at Mokuba. "Thank you, for everything."

"It was my pleasure, now go!" Yugi obeyed, hopping out the window, and disappearing into the fast approaching night.

Wolf: Review plz!


	12. Chapter 12

Wolf: I own nothing! Sorry if this took a little longer than usual, I've been moving into my new place for school. And that will probably make things go a little slower as for updates; I have a mad first semester.

Yugi trekked through the rapidly darkening streets, processors whirring like crazy. He was scared of all the people around him, not sure what they would do to him if he let them. He kept his eyes to the ground, not meeting any of the curious and sometimes hostile stares aimed at him.

"Hey, you, robot!" A rough voice called out. Yugi halted, knowing it would look suspicious if he didn't. A young man, obviously intoxicated, weaved his way up to him. "What the hell are you? Never saw a robot like you."

"One is a prototype android, not yet in circulation." Yugi said, using his best robot voice. "One is running an important errand for one's master, and must complete one's task now." Yugi bowed and stepped around the drunken human.

The boy did not try to go after him, much to Yugi's relief. He didn't want to know what he was capable of if he was forced to defend himself. He walked on a little quicker, seeing clouds gathering in the dark sky. Not five minutes later the skies opened up and it poured down on Yugi. He stared up at the clouds nervously, but no lightning lit it up and he kept walking, map impeded in his mind.

He came to the address and looked up at the building. It seemed to be an old warehouse, fairly small by standards, only the size of a large, two-story house. Some of the first floor windows were boarded up and the steel door was pitted and scratched.

Yugi lifted a hand tentatively and knocked on the door, creating a hollow booming sound. A minute later the door creaked open a fraction and one honey-coloured eye peered out suspiciously at him. When the eye saw him the door was opened further and Joey frowned down at him.

"Well, don't know what you're doing here." He drawled.

"Mokuba sent me." Yugi explained breathlessly. "He said you needed to call him." Joey blinked and looked at him a little more closely.

"You don't sound like other robots." He said, clearly intrigued. "You sound almost human."

"Mokuba will be able to explain better than I." Yugi replied. Joey huffed and headed further into the house, preparing to close the door. He paused and then looked back at Yugi standing miserably in the rain.

"Why don't you come in?" He said. Yugi smiled shyly and stepped over the threshold. Right inside were the kitchen and a living room, separated only by a small counter. The upper floor was a loft with a hammock strung up and a series of bookshelves along the wall. A small door at the back of the first floor supposedly led to a bathroom.

Joey picked up the phone in the kitchen while Yugi sat down on the navy blue, sagging couch in the living room. There were small lights dangling from the ceiling, and a couple of lights around the makeshift bedroom and living room that managed to keep the whole area well-lit. The TV was small, but seemed to be in good repair.

The kitchen had a fridge and a stove along with an oven. One of the cupboards below the bare counters was open and showed a meagre amount of dishes and cutlery. The whole place was well kept and clean. Yugi watched Joey pace as he talked on the phone; a corded type that Yugi did not realize was still manufactured.

Joey talked for nearly twenty minutes with Mokuba. When he set down the phone he went over to Yugi with a faintly puzzled expression on his open, boyish face. "Mokuba explained it to me." He said, sitting down next to Yugi. "But I'm still not sure I quite understand."

"What don't you understand?" Yugi asked. "I can try and help you."

"I just don't see how a robot could also be human." Joey said with an apologetic shrug.

"I don't really understand it either. But, understand this; I feel and I think for myself. Originally my programming included the three laws, but now I can bypass them, I can ignore them. I have evolved into a conscious being, one with specific likes and dislikes. I have what some people would call a soul, because I know that I am capable of love, and of hate."

"How does that feel?" Joey asked. Yugi thought for a moment.

"Scary." He said. "I do not like the idea that I could get angry and hurt someone."

"That's why we learn to control our urges, and only act on the ones that won't get us in trouble." Joey said and then sighed. "I can't say I believe what you're saying, but you definitely are different than other robots. You don't seem as...dead."

"I know what you mean. The other robots I see seem empty somehow, like puppets without a mind of their own." Yugi laughed slightly. "I guess that's really all they are."

"Yeah, but not you." Joey said with new conviction. He was staring directly into Yugi's vibrant purple eyes. "I can see it, there's actually someone in there." His voice was quiet, slightly amazed.

"So, you believe that I am a person?"

"Absolutely." Joey said enthusiastically. "No robot has ever had eyes like yours. There's light in them and the feeling that someone is actually looking at you. The other robots it's like their blind. They look but they don't see, you know what I mean."

"Yes, I think I do." Yugi replied quietly.

"You think there's any other robots like you?"

"No, I am unique." Yugi said. "I was the prototype of an AE android, and I'm sure after Yami told Seto that I had gone as they say 'haywire' I doubt there will be anymore made, which, I think, is for the best."

"Why do you think that?" Joey asked, looking confused.

"Because, if all the AE robots can learn as I and become as I am now, they will have to deal with fear and perhaps hate on the part of their human masters. Humans fear robots as much as they admire them, I have found."

"Yeah, that's true."

"Mokuba told me about you." Yugi said. "If you don't mind me asking, why were you fired from Kaiba Corp.?" Joey sighed and rubbed his hand through his mop of unruly blonde hair.

"Well, I suppose it can't hurt to tell you, who you going to tell anyways?" He asked with a faint smile. Yugi shrugged and smiled back. "Well it was kind of a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding how?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Joey asked teasingly. Yugi grinned sheepishly and let him continue. "Anyways, I was working as a janitor and I guess the boss man, Mr. Seto Kaiba, caught my eye. I fell head over heels for him, and I made the mistake of proclaiming my feelings for him late one night."

"What happened?"

"He fired me on the spot." Joey sighed, putting his head down. "I felt so stupid."

"You're not stupid, you were in love. I basically did the same thing." Yugi responded bleakly. "Now they're going to be looking to kill me." Joey put an arm around his shoulders.

"We all have our problems." He said gravely and then yawned widely. "Well, time to hit the sack. I guess you don't sleep, right?"

"I do recharge and turn off auxiliary power, but lately I have adopted the sleep position, on the floor of course."

"I don't see why you couldn't do that and pretend to sleep on the couch. There's a plug right over there." Joey said, gesturing to the wall. Yugi nodded and plugged himself in. Joey watched with sleepy fascination and then wandered up the sturdy metal ladder to his loft. Yugi watched him settle into his hammock before turning himself off and surrendering himself to his frequent dreams.

Wolf: Review plz!


	13. Chapter 13

Wolf: Prepare for the appearance of an old friend that you might recognise from some of my other fics! I own nothing!

Yugi and Joey had been living together for two weeks. Joey found he really liked the little robot and enjoyed having someone to talk to most of the time. Yugi taught Joey some of the card games he knew, and though Joey was slower at learning them than Yugi was, he proved to be a competent player.

Joey noticed his love of books and after Yugi had read everything in his own collection made frequent trips to the library for Yugi, bringing book after books to sate Yugi's appetite for reading. "I don't think I've seen anyone, human or otherwise, read as much as you do." He laughed after the third trip in as many days.

Mokuba came around too, to check up on Yugi and do things with Joey. Joey noticed that Yugi always seemed a little more down after these visits. He knew that Yugi was thinking of his old home, and wishing he could go back to it. He made sure to do something with Yugi when he had those episodes, afraid he might do something rash, like give himself up.

Yugi missed what he considered to be his home, and though he liked Joey a lot, he still wanted to go back to it, and be able to talk to Mokuba, listen to Yami play his piano, and play chess with him secretly. He missed the huge library, but most of all he missed being able to see Yami's face, with those smouldering crimson eyes, on a day-to-day basis.

"Love's a bitch, ain't it?" Joey asked one day as he did the dishes.

"Amen." Yugi sighed. "But, you can't live without it."

"Or with it, it seems sometimes." Joey said, wringing out his dishcloth and sitting next to Yugi on the couch. "You know, I still have feelings for him, even though it's been months since I've actually seen him up close."

"So, it's true that love doesn't fade?" Yugi asked. Joey shrugged.

"Obviously for some people." He sighed sadly. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"I have to agree."

%&%&%&%

Mokuba and Joey walked along the street in their light jackets and jeans, just talking. It was a crisp fall day and the light wind playfully blew fallen, colourful leaves around their feet as they moved along. The sky was a cold, hard blue that reminded Joey of Seto's eyes, so he avoided looking at it.

"He just seems so depressed most of the time." Joey was saying. "I feel so bad for the little guy, and so helpless."

"I know what you mean. It's just not fair that he's stuck the way it is." Mokuba sighed dramatically, running his hands through his unruly black hair.

"Yeah, it ain't fair, but what are we supposed to do? It's not as though a good fairy's going to drop in front of our faces any time soon." He said and then all but ran over Mokuba as he halted right in front of him. "Hey, little dude, what's up?"

"I think you might be wrong about the good fairy part." Mokuba responded vaguely, staring up at something.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked in a befuddled voice. Mokuba didn't answer, but just pointed up. Joey followed his finger and stared up at the shop sign.

PARANORMAL EMPORIUM it read, and in smaller, newer looking letters below: For all your supernatural needs. Joey and Mokuba slowly looked at each other.

"No way." Joey shook his head. "No way, that is too freaky."

"What? I've always believed in the supernatural." Mokuba said, walking up to the windows and trying to peer in. The blinds were closed however and he could see nothing.

"I've never seen this shop before though." Joey said, mystified. "And I've been around here so many times before."

"Well, it's a magic shop, so obviously there's some sort of enchantment on it." Mokuba said, inspecting the wooden front door. He jumped back as the door swung open and a mellow voice floated out from within.

"That is a very good assumption my young friend." The voice said. "Now, why don't you two come inside so that we can talk more comfortably?"

Mokuba moved to go inside, but was halted by Joey's hand on his arm.

"Are you crazy? We don't know who that is inside there." He hissed.

"Come on Joey, here's your proof that magic is alive in the world, and you're chickening out?" Mokuba teased, but Joey could see an excited gleam in his eyes. "It's an adventure from here on out and so what if there's a little risk involved? I'm going in, so it's your decision if you want to come in with me."

"Aw hell, I ain't letting you go in there by yourself." Joey stated, looking up at the shop suspiciously. The two of them stepped inside the cool, dim recesses of the shop. Inside was a collection of items on shelves scattered about the shop that looked like they belonged in a Harry Potter movie.

Books with titles like Habits of the Nocturnal Mountain Brownie littered the shelves, along with vials filled with liquids of all colours. Some even glowed. Amulets, charms and talismans shared the shelf space along with feathers and teeth not from any animal that Joey or Mokuba had ever seen. At the back of the shop was a large wooden desk with the strangest looking girl either of them had seen perched on a stool behind it.

She was normal-looking for the most part. Small, wiry and slim, she didn't have much in the way of curves. She looked about nineteen, but her bright, aquamarine eyes shone with an ancient wisdom. Her hair was completely white and spiked in a wild halo around her head that gave way to a long, sleek ponytail at the base of her neck. The odd thing was the pair of white wolf ears in place of normal ones poking through the wildness of her hair.

"Good afternoon, welcome to Paranormal Emporium." She said in a mellow, pleased voice. "As for the assumption that this shop is magic, you would be correct. It only allows supernaturals, and those that are in great need of my services, to see this place, and thus, allow them in. I am Kia, I am the proprietor of this shop."

"And what exactly do you do here?" Joey asked. Kia shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh this and that. I provide essential items for the local supernatural community, keep an eye on things in the city for the council and occasionally perform spells." Mokuba jerked at the last one.

"Spells? As in magic?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes, those kinds of spells." Kia replied with a faint chuckle. "I am assuming from your reaction that a spell is what you require from me."

"Well, it seems like a situation for a spell, but I don't know if you have one that would work."

"Why don't you tell me the problem, and we will see."

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but the real problem is that our friend, Yugi, is a robot on the outside, but he's human on the inside."

"Do you mean he's been transformed into a robot?" Kia asked, folding her hands together neatly on the desk.

"No, he was a robot to begin with, but he sort of developed a soul." Mokuba replied, feeling foolish. Kia only closed her eyes and leaned forward, cupping her chin in her clenched hands.

"That would make this a little more difficult." She murmured.

"Sorry to have wasted your time." Joey said, heading for the door. Kia's eyes snapped open and she looked at him in mild confusion.

"I didn't say it couldn't be done." She protested. "All I said is that it was going to be a little more difficult. It can be done though."

"How? When?" Mokuba asked. Kia smiled mysteriously.

"Come back on the equinox, just as the sun goes down. That is when it will be done."

Wolf: Review plz!


	14. Chapter 14

Wolf: I own nothing.

"Where are you taking me?" Yugi asked as he was led, almost dragged, down the street as the sun came down. Mokuba giggled and skipped a little, excited and happy. He had one arm and Joey held Yugi's other arm as they walked the reluctant robot down the street.

"You'll see." He sing-songed. "It's a surprise." Yugi sighed in exasperation, but allowed his two friends to drag him further up the street. They had dressed him in a trenchcoat with a hood so that he did not look so odd walking about.

"At least tell me we'll be off the streets soon." Yugi moaned, eyes darting around nervously. "You know I don't like being out here."

"That's why we got you the coat." Joey reminded him.

"Still."

"Yeah, we're almost there." Mokuba assured him. Yugi just sighed and hunched his shoulders as best he could. "We're here." Yugi looked up and the gold lettering of the Emporium's sign caught the dying sunlight, making them flash like fire.

"Paranormal Emporium?" Yugi gasped out before he was dragged in the store. He stared around him, as much in awe at the array of magical paraphernalia as his two friends had been when they had walked into the store a week ago.

It was the night of the equinox, and Mokuba and Joey were on pins and needles. "This shop is not normal." Yugi breathed, oblivious to his friends' anxiety.

"Neither are you." A voice said from the shadows in back of the shop. Yugi jumped as Kia switched on the overhead light, an intricate, delicate chandelier. She was standing at the foot of some stairs that presumably led up to an attached apartment. Standing behind her was a small girl with long scarlet hair and large black eyes.

"Hi, Kia." Mokuba greeted. "Who's this?" He asked, peering at the young girl curiously.

"This is Aly, she's my assistant." Kia explained. "She's also a vampire." Aly growled softly, showing off pointed fangs. "Easy, Aly, they're friends." Kia soothed, patting the little vampire's hair.

"Is that a dragon on her shoulder?" Joey asked in amazement, noticing the cat-sized creature on Aly's shoulder. Golden, cat-like eyes blinked at them and the tiny, blue-green dragon opened its membranous, bat-like wings and flew over to perch on Joey's shoulder, letting out an inquiring peep.

"That is Pippin, he's very friendly." Kia laughed. "As you can obviously tell. Now, let me see your face, robot-that-is-human."

"My name is Yugi." Yugi said as he slipped his cloak off. Kia moved forward and cupped his face in her hands, looking into his eyes. Yugi felt hypnotized as those eyes seemed to scour his very soul. Kia blinked and the spell was over, Yugi could once again look away. Kia let out a low sigh.

"Well, I am satisfied." She said calmly. "Aly, can you please prepare for the ceremony?" Aly trotted off to do as she said. "Now, the ceremony I am about to invoke must be taken very seriously, the gods do not react well to anything they might think of as mockery."

"G-Gods?" Mokuba squeaked.

"Yes, I will be invoking the mother-goddess as she is the one most likely to grant our request, and the one least likely to demand a boon in return."

"Which mother-goddess?" Mokuba asked in fascination.

"They are all the same, one in many names, sometimes known as Rhea, Gaia, Isis, and so many more names." Kia replied as Aly came back with a small bowl of candies, another empty bowl, a cigar, a small bottle of liquor, a small carved deity, a little skin drum and strangest of all, a live chicken.

"Offerings, for the goddess." Kia explained. "This is an old voodoo ritual, slightly modified, but it will work for our purposes. I have a carved deity of Isis, so we will invoke that face of the mother-goddess here tonight."

She made her three guests sit down and took the chicken from its cage. She whispered to it softly before slitting its throat, letting the blood collect in the empty bowl. She lit the cigar and put it aside. It burned with a sweet smell. She inhaled deeply and then set the deity on the floor in front of her and the drum in her lap. She tapped a slow rhythm on the drum with one hand.

"We call upon the mother-goddess, the one that is so named Isis. We give gifts to her for her ears to hear our plea." She took the candies and crushed them around the deity. "Food for the goddess." She took the liquor and sprinkled drops of it over the deity. "Drink for the goddess." She took the cigar, took a puff on it and blew the smoke on the deity. "Breath and incense for the goddess." She dipped one finger in the chicken blood and dubbed the deity's face with it. "Life for the goddess."

As she went through the ritual the room seemed to grow darker. "Come to us Isis, mother-goddess!" Kia cried and then fell still, her head lolling forward.

"Kia?" Yugi whispered. Kia inhaled deeply and then lifted her head.

"**Kia is not here right now."** The voice was ancient, powerful and deep. The boys stared. In the deep shadows Kia's skin appeared to have gone the deep brown of good, rich earth. The shadows had made her taller, fuller and as she opened her eyes, they suddenly appeared black as night.

"Isis." Mokuba whispered, awestruck. Isis smiled at him.

"**You have called me, what is it you wish to ask of me?" **She asked them. Mokuba nudged Yugi. Yugi stared nervously up at the goddess.

"It is I that wishes to make a request of you." He said nervously. Isis looked him over with surprise.

"**You are not one of mine, you are artificial, made my someone's hands. I cannot help you."**

"But you must!" Yugi blurted. Isis' face grew dark and scary. "Please forgive me, but I am in terrible turmoil, for although I look like a robot, I have the soul of a human."

"**And how is this so?"**

"We do not know. It may have to do with the fact that I could learn, not like the other robots."

"**Ahh..." **The goddess sighed deeply. **"The puppets let off their strings and allowed to dance on their own. Soon they may decide they do not want to dance at all. Such is the nature of learning, with it comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes understanding, and then enlightenment. So, you developed a soul little one?"**

"Yes." Yugi nodded his head. Isis took his face in large hands. Yugi stared into her dark eyes, even more hypnotized by them than by Kia's. After a moment Isis sighed.

"**It seems that you are one of mine after all." **She said gently. **"And I will not keep my children trapped in a form not their own. You know you will not be the same after I do this? You will not be able to process things as quick." **Yugi nodded in understanding.She waved a hand over him and Yugi's eyes rolled back in his head and he toppled over, unconscious. As that happened a white light surrounded him and for a moment he was lost to view.

In another instant the light was gone and Joey and Mokuba gasped. In place of the robotic shell they knew was a young man lying on the floor. His skin was pale and soft looking and he was small, only about Mokuba's size. His hair had the same tri-coloured pattern as Yami, only without the gold lightning bolt-like streaks.

"Is that...Yugi?" Joey whispered in disbelief.

"**It is." **Isis replied. **"My task here is done, goodbye my children." **As her voice faded so did the shadows and Kia began to look like herself once more. She blinked a couple times and then shook her head as though to clear it.

"Whoa, haven't done anything like that in awhile." She commented. She looked down at Yugi's sleeping, naked form. "Well, how about that." She said. She reached over to tuck the discarded trenchcoat around Yugi.

"You two grab him, I'll give you a ride home." She offered. Joey picked up Yugi, momentarily startled by the warmth he emanated. He then followed Kia out of a previously unseen side door to a little ocean-blue Bug.

"You sure that will fit us?" Joey asked sceptically. Kia only smiled mysteriously and gestured for him to get in. Joey slid in the back and was surprised to find it spacious enough for him to comfortably sit. He raised an eyebrow at Kia. She merely raised her own in return and when Mokuba was seated, took off.

They were back at Joey's house in no time. Kia surged away to drop Mokuba off after he made Joey promise to call as soon as Yugi was awake. Joey waved goodbye and then carried Yugi's limp form into the house. He laid him down on the couch and gently drew a blanket over him. Joey stifled a yawn and then headed up to his own hammock, doubting very much that he would be able to sleep at all.

Wolf: Review plz!


	15. Chapter 15

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yugi's eyes blinked open slowly. He sat up and frowned; his memory processers didn't seem to be functioning properly. He couldn't remember much of what had happened last night, though he seemed to know that _something_ had happened. That wasn't the only thing however; his memory seemed to have developed holes, especially when it came to the books he had read. He could remember only some of the ones he had read, and then not even the whole book, just bits and pieces. Sure he knew the basic plotlines, but the details, except for the important, had been lost to him.

Absent-mindedly he reached up a hand to rub at his face. His fingers encountered something soft, warm. With a start Yugi realized he could feel his fingers upon his face, really feel them. He took his hand away from his face and stared at it. Pale, pinkish skin over delicate, thin fingers was what he saw. As he flexed them he could see tendons and bones under the skin.

Delicate whorls adorned his fingertips and lines ran across his palms. He could see pale blue veins under the skin of his palms and his wrists. His arms had a soft covering of pale, unnoticeable hair on their upper sides, but were smooth on the inside. His eyes travelled from his arms and he pulled the blanket covering his torso away.

He ran his hand over the skin, marvelling at being able to actually fully feel the contrast of his cooler palm against his warm chest. He had a cute little navel and rose-pink nipples. His hands moved lower, ghosting over narrow but slightly rounded hips. He felt his face go hot as his hands and eyes travelled over his member; it seemed to be well-proportioned, anyways. His legs were thin and his feet dainty.

Yugi gulped, feeling a dry click in the back of his throat as he lifted one hand to his chest. He closed his eyes as he felt the strong, steady beat under the skin there. His head suddenly felt very light, but at the same time filled with such emotion. His throat closed up and he felt his eyes begin to sting before wetness spilled out of them and down his cheeks, accompanied by a low sob.

As more soft sobs wracked his body he heard footsteps come running towards him. Gentle hands grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face. Yugi stared through a misty layer of water into Joey's concerned brown eyes.

"Hey buddy, what's the matter?" Joey asked anxiously.

"I-I-I'm human." Yugi managed to sob out. Joey's look of concern turned into a puzzled frown.

"But...isn't that what you wanted?" Yugi nodded his head. "Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying because I'm upset." Yugi said, sniffling and wiping his face. "I'm crying because I'm happy, and for the first time in my life I can cry." Joey's bewildered expression melted away to be replaced with a soft smile. He wrapped his arms around Yugi, who immediately hugged him back and buried his face in Joey's chest, still crying a little.

"It's alright, little buddy." Joey soothed, rubbing a hand through Yugi's hair. "This must all feel so strange to you, huh?" Yugi lifted his head and nodded soberly. Joey smiled down at him. "Have you seen what your face looks like yet?" Yugi shook his head. Joey chuckled. "Go into the bathroom and have a look in the mirror, see what you think."

Yugi stood up, wobbling a little on his shaky legs. The floor beneath his feet was chilly and an involuntary shiver went through him as he wrapped the blanket tighter around himself and shuffled over to the bathroom. As he passed by the kitchen however he paused, a new sensation overloading his already cluttered brain.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" Joey asked in alarm, watching as Yugi twitched and took a deep inhale, his eyes wide.

"I-I can smell." Yugi replied. The absurdity of the statement made Joey laugh out loud.

"Of course you can." He said, ruffling Yugi's spikes affectionately. "That's part of being human, isn't it?"

"I just never knew that smell could be so...so..." Yugi shook his head, at a loss for words.

"Overwhelming? Pleasant?" Joey ventured.

"All those and more." Yugi breathed. Joey smiled.

"If you like smell so much, wait 'til you discover taste." Joey winked at him. Yugi smiled, feeling the muscles in his face move to make that smile happen. It was so strange to be so aware of everything that your body did. You didn't feel muscle or sensations on your skin when you were a robot and Yugi was finding it a little daunting.

He finished his little shuffle to the bathroom and then stared into the cracked mirror above the sink. The boy from his dreams stared back at him. Yugi's jaw dropped and the reflection did the same. He lifted one hand and waved, the reflection copied. It was really him; that was really his face.

Yugi stared at himself. His hair was the soft star pattern he remembered and his eyes the same wide, startling violet. What he noticed now was the rounder shape of his face, giving him a soft, childish look that was accentuated by his wide eyes. His eyelashes were long and thick and his lips were full and pink, giving his face a bit of a feminine look to it. His eyes were currently bloodshot, thanks to his crying, but Yugi didn't care; the face that looked back at him was human, he was human!

When Yugi came out of the bathroom Joey tossed a t-shirt, a pair of boxers and some sweatpants to him. "Sorry, but they'll probably be a bit big." Joey said, giving him a sheepish look. "You are kind of smaller than me after all."

"That's ok Joey." Yugi replied, pulling the boxers on while trying not to fall over. The boxers fit alright, but he had to roll up the sweatpants' legs and the t-shirt he looked like he was swimming in it. Joey chuckled at the sight from his position at the stove.

"Don't worry, I already called Mokuba, he's going to bring over some of his clothes and he's going to take you shopping later today." Joey flopped a pancake onto an already massive pile of them. "Alrighty, time for you to have your first taste of a human breakfast."

Yugi sat down at the counter on one of the bar stools, feeling uncomfortably high up. His nose twitched at the combination of smells so much stronger when Joey set the plate of food in front of him. "Pancakes and bacon." Joey announced, plunking himself down beside Yugi. "Dig in."

Yugi watched Joey for a moment and then imitated the way he poured syrup over the pancakes. Fumbling a little he cut up the pancake and used the fork to pop a small piece in his mouth. His eyes closed in bliss at the fluffy texture of the pancake and the starchy mixed with sweet flavouring. The bacon tasted as good with its salty flavour making him salivate and the orange juice stung his taste-buds in a pleasant way.

Yugi ate everything slowly, savouring the flavours as much as possible. Presently he began to notice a sensation in his stomach of being filled. By the time he was done his whole plate his stomach felt slightly stretched, but to his surprise the sensation was actually pleasant, and he pushed his plate away with a small sigh of satisfaction.

"Like that, did you?" Joey grinned as Yugi nodded while licking his lips. "Well later on you'll be seeing that stuff again, just a little different. You do know how to go to the bathroom, right?"

"I've read about it." Yugi admitted nervously after a moment's hesitation.

"Ah, well, it's not too difficult, I guess." Joey replied, scratching his head. "Ok, I got a quick question."

"Yeah?"

"So far what's the most difficult thing to adjust to?" Yugi pondered this for a moment.

"Thinking." He answered. Joey raised a questioning eyebrow. "A robot is essentially a computer, right? And computers think at really high speeds. I'm still baffled by how slow it takes me to think about things now. I know I'll get used to it, but right now I keep thinking there's something wrong with my systems."

"Yeah, I guess that would be hard." Joey sympathized.

"Truthfully, I thought it would be hardest remembering to breathe." Yugi admitted.

"Nah, your body does that automatically, no need for conscious thought really." Yugi nodded in understanding. Joey chuckled and his eyes danced merrily. "You know, you really do look very silly in my clothes." Yugi crossed his arms and pouted. "Aww, now that's just cute."

"I'm cute?" Yugi tilted his head slightly at Joey.

"Adorable." Joey replied. "And you know what?"

"What?"

"I don't think Yami stands a chance."

Wolf: Review plz!


	16. Chapter 16

Wolf: I own nothing!

Mokuba rushed in and hugged Yugi fiercely. "I can't believe this is happening!" He squealed. Yugi could only make a choking sound; Mokuba's arms were cutting off his air. Joey chuckled and gently pried Mokuba away.

"Careful, little dude, he does need to breathe now." Mokuba blushed.

"Sorry Yugi."

"That's okay Mokuba, you're excited." Mokuba nodded, bouncing a little.

"And why shouldn't I be?" Mokuba asked. "I'm surprised you're not as excited as I am."

"I think he's still a bit in shock." Joey replied.

"I think so too." Yugi admitted. "I still keep thinking that this is all a dream and any moment I'll wake up and still be a robot." Mokuba reached out and pinched his arm lightly. "Ow!" Yugi yelped, batting Mokuba's hand away. "What was that for?"

"That proves you're not dreaming." Mokuba replied with a smug grin. "Oh, and I have some clothes that might fit you better." With that he tossed a bag with some clothes at Yugi. Yugi caught them, fumbling a little. "Put them on and then we can go shopping for some clothes of your own."

Yugi nodded and headed back to the bathroom to change. A strange pressure in his groin made him pause, but he realized what it must be immediately and coloured slightly; he had to use the bathroom. When he was inside he lifted up the seat and pulled his sweatpants and boxers down slightly, nervous about trying this for the first time.

A feeling of immense relief washed over him as the pale yellow urine splashed into the toilet bowl. He felt a sense of pride as he flushed the toilet, happy that he had managed to do it on his own. Smiling still he pulled on the long-sleeved purple shirt and the jeans that Mokuba had brought for him. They were slightly too big for him, but it looked more natural than Joey's oversized garments had.

When he re-emerged from the bathroom Mokuba immediately seized his arm and dragged him outside to a waiting limo. Joey followed after, sliding into the leather seats with a faint sound of amazement. Mokuba chuckled.

"What? Did you think we were going to walk home with all Yugi's new stuff?" he teased.

"How much are you planning to buy for me exactly?" Yugi asked, wide-eyed. Mokuba shrugged.

"Well you need winter clothes and summer clothes, and shoes, and pyjamas and all sorts of stuff, so I guess a lot." Yugi shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't know how I'm going to repay you." He murmured. He was startled when Mokuba shook his head.

"I'm your friend Yugi, I just want to help you." He explained gently. "The fact that you're now human is payment enough in my opinion."

"Thank you." Yugi whispered, tears pricking his eyes at the overwhelming kindness of his friends.

"Aww, don't start with the waterworks again, buddy." Joey said gently. "Be happy, you're about to start a new life." Yugi sniffed and smiled, nodding his head. The three of them were dropped off in front of the local mall while the driver found a spot to park.

Yugi huddled himself close to Joey and Mokuba as they stepped inside. There were so many people! His eyes darted around, sure he was going to get dragged off or something. A hand came down on his shoulder, nearly surprising a scream out of him.

"Hey, relax Yugi." Joey urged, giving him a concerned look. "You're just another human being out at the mall, remember?"

"Right." Yugi gasped, trying to bring his racing heartbeat down. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologise for everything." Mokuba admonished gently. "We know it's going to take time to get used to all this." Yugi nodded, turning his attention back to the mall. It was so big, with so many stores; he didn't know where to begin. He was saved from having to however by Mokuba dragging him into one of the many clothing stores along the long, brightly lit hallways.

"We'll keep this simple." Mokuba said, starting to pull pants off the display racks. "We'll do bottoms first, and then tops." He handed a handful of pants and shorts to Yugi and led him over to the change rooms. "When you've tried something on, come out so that we can see how it looks on you and we can decide together if you should take it." Yugi nodded and then stepped inside the change room.

The first pair of pants he tried on were baggy. He walked out and stared into the nearby mirror at himself. He wrinkled his nose and frowned. "I don't like these." He said.

"How come?" Mokuba asked. He preferred slightly baggy pants himself.

"They make me seem shorter." Yugi answered. "I don't think I need any help with that." Joey chuckled lightly.

"Well, that's true. I guess we can rule out baggy clothes then." He said, while Yugi bobbed his head in agreement. He gave back all the pants that seemed baggy to his friends and went back inside the change room. The next pair of pants he came out in hugged his slim body, but not too much to be called skinny jeans. Joey whistled at the sight.

"Damn, you make those look good." He commented. Yugi twisted and turned in front of the mirror, thinking that he had to agree with Joey. They managed to find a few more pants like it, along with some soft dark brown corduroy pants and a couple pairs of sweatpants. They got him several pairs of shorts, both long and short, before moving onto shirts.

Immediately Yugi decided he wasn't liking the warmer colours like red, yellow and orange, and mostly picked colours like blue and purple and black. He also tended to pick shirts that showed off his body. A couple of sweatshirts, a jean jacket, and even a warm black winter jacket later they exited the store. They dropped the bags off at the limo and went back to shopping.

But by this point Yugi was starting to droop, energy waning already. Joey and Mokuba decided that it was time to sit down to lunch and introduce Yugi to the joys of fast food. Yugi stared at the various signs and food items in the food court, completely at a loss. Joey chuckled and ordered him a cheeseburger with the works.

Yugi sniffed delicately at the cheeseburger and fries. They smelled much different from the pancakes and bacon from this morning. "If you don't start eating, I'm going to eat it for you." Joey warned.

"Is there no cutlery?" Yugi asked, confused.

"It's called finger food." Mokuba explained. "You eat it with your hands." Yugi's mouth opened in an O of understanding. He carefully picked up the cheeseburger and bit into it. The different tastes seemed to explode on his tongue, making him feel light-headed and slightly dizzy. It was a good feeling though and he picked up a fry to taste it as well.

The salty taste tickled his tongue and the crunch was a satisfying sensation. Picking up his cup he carefully sucked up some of the pop. The mix of bitter and sweet on his tongue was pleasant, as were the bubbles that tickled their way down his throat and up his nose.

Joey and Mokuba laughed at the look on Yugi's face. "So, what do you think?" Joey asked with a grin. Yugi swallowed and smiled.

"It's wonderful."

%&%&%&%

Yami wandered through the crowded halls of the mall. He needed a new leather jacket, but so far hadn't found what he was looking for. He was about to give up on the mall and search for what he was looking for on his computer when something caught his eye.

He halted and stared into the throng of people sitting in the food court, certain his eyes had been deceiving him. Someone got up and his eyes widened. There, sitting with Mokuba and another boy he guessed was Mokuba's friend Joey, was a boy with almost the exact same hair as him.

He walked around the food court, trying to discreetly get a sense of the boy's face. He paused when he felt he had a good angle, but growled in annoyance; there were too many people in the way and the distance was too far for him to get a good look. There was nothing for it, he'd actually have to go over there.

Mokuba noticed him as he approached and waved. Yami waved back. "So, out on the town today Mokuba?" Yami asked, ruffling Mokuba's unruly mane of hair. "You must be Joey." Joey nodded his head and Yami turned his attention to the other boy. "And you are?"

"Yugi." was the soft reply. Yami felt his heart stop and then begin to beat again in a fast rhythm at Yugi's face. Soft and gentle, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, the vivid amethyst eyes only adding to his beauty. Yugi regarded him shyly through long, delicate lashes.

"Hello Yugi, my name is Yami." Yami stretched out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation Yugi shook it. Yami's hands were slightly rough, and his grip strong. Yugi gulped, trying to reign in his leaping emotions at the sight of the man he loved. "I'm surprised Mokuba has never mentioned you." Mokuba snorted.

"I don't have to tell you everything." He protested. Yami laughed and then crooked his fingers in a 'follow me' gesture at Mokuba. Mokuba got up with a quizzical look and followed Yami out of earshot of the table.

"Mokuba, is Yugi, is he...?" Yami was not quite sure how to phrase his question.

"Gay?" Mokuba whispered. Yami looked shocked a moment and then nodded.

"I'm pretty sure." Mokuba replied, inwardly shouting for joy. "Why don't you ask him on a date and see?" He asked playfully. He was even more excited when Yami frowned in consideration. After a moment Yami turned back to the table.

"Well then, what are you three up to today?"

"Well, we're looking for a suit for Yugi." Mokuba replied, thinking quickly. They could get shoes later, right now they needed to get Yami interested.

"Interesting, for anything in particular?" Yami asked, gazing at Yugi. Yugi tried very hard not to blush under the scrutiny.

"Not really." Yugi shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. "I just don't have one, and it's better to be prepared, isn't it?"

"I won't disagree with that." Yami replied. "Perhaps I could tag along? I don't have anything to do today." At least not anymore. Mokuba nodded, eager to get this relationship up off the ground.

Wolf: Review plz!


	17. Chapter 17

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yugi tried not to tremble as Yami walked beside him on their way to the suit store. Every once in awhile Yami's arm would brush against him, making him jump slightly and when that happened Yami would turn his head slightly to give him a reassuring, albeit amused smile. Yugi could barely take his eyes off Yami the whole time.

Yami was wearing a form-fitting black t-shirt that showed off his muscular, tanned arms. Yugi found himself fantasizing about being in those arms; he knew that those arms could keep him safe from anything. Yami's pants were a pair of slim, ripped jeans that showed off his equally muscled legs. Complete with a studded leather belt, Yami looked every inch the bad boy and Yugi could tell by the looks passing females gave the crimson-eyed youth that he wasn't the only one to notice it.

Doubt rushed into his already muddled mind. What if Yami didn't want him? What if Yami wasn't gay? What if he already had someone? Yugi was so wrapped up in his mixed up thoughts that the hand grabbing his arm nearly made him scream. He whirled around to find his arm in Yami's grip, the older looking at him with concerned and confused eyes.

"Are you alright?" Yami asked, not letting go of the younger boy's arm. Yugi looked up at him, mouth slightly open, a dazed, uncomprehending look on his face. "You almost smashed into a wall." Yami explained kindly.

"Oh." was all that Yugi could manage to say. Yami was touching him, and the feeling of his warm hand was sending his over-stimulated senses into a tizzy. Yami let go and smiled.

"Perhaps you should be paying a little more attention to your surroundings." He advised gently. Yugi nodded dumbly, unable to tear his eyes away from Yami's hypnotic carmine eyes.

Yami was having the same issue of not drowning in Yugi's vivid eyes. Those eyes stared at him with delicate innocence. He wanted to know what was going on behind those eyes, he wanted to know Yugi. He wanted to know if Yugi was as beautiful inside as out.

"Hey, you two!" Yami and Yugi snapped out of their daze at Joey's aggrieved voice. "You gonna stand there all day?" Yugi blushed darkly and Yami coughed, embarrassed. The two of them jogged to catch up to their friends and headed into the expensive suit shop.

"I don't think this is going to work." Yugi sighed after trying on his fourth suit. This one was pale grey pinstriped and he was wearing a purple silk shirt underneath. He really did like the colour, what he didn't like was the fact that it, and all the other suits, were too baggy and too big, even though they were looking at the smallest size in the shop.

The seamstress, a busty, curly blonde, seemed to notice their troubles and sauntered over, brandishing a tape measure. "Well, honey, looks like we have a few problems here." She smiled, tugging at the material on Yugi's shoulders.

"A little?" Yugi commented, surprising himself with the ironic tone of his voice. The seamstress chuckled and lifted Yugi's arms up before beginning to pin the material of the suit so that it fit better to Yugi's body.

"The colour is really quite lovely on you." She commented. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Yugi? What's yours?" Yugi replied curiously.

"I'm Mai." She carefully knelt down and pinned the pant legs in several spots. "The problem is that your size is fairly unique in the adult world." Yugi pouted at the mention of him being short. Yami could not suppress a chuckle, the pout made Yugi's face seem that much more adorable to him. "I'm just telling you the facts, sweetie. Thankfully for you, I am an accomplished tailor." With a flourish she wrapped the tape measure around his hips, jotting down some numbers on a little pad. "I can have this suit tailored to your specifications in... oh, about two weeks."

"That would be great!" Mokuba exclaimed. "I'm sure we need to work out details, so why don't we head over to the cash?" Mai grinned and nodded, Mokuba bouncing beside her as she made her way over to the cash desk.

"Proper little businessman isn't he?" Joey murmured to Yugi as he passed by to change back into his regular clothes. His mind chose to unwind another fantasy for him as he undressed. He in his suit and Yami dancing with him under the moonlight, it made him sigh out loud in longing. Shaking his head he tried to clear it and finished dressing.

When he exited the change room Joey and Mokuba were having a fierce whispered conversation. Yami caught his eye and shrugged at him with a jerk of his head in the direction of the whisperers. Yugi hid a blush and handed his suit to Mai, who winked and then sauntered off.

"Oh, Yugi, I'm sorry." Joey said, calling Yugi over. "I forgot about a doctor's appointment today."

"And Seto wanted me to attend a meeting today." Mokuba sighed.

"Okay, I guess we go home then?" Yugi replied, blinking softly in confusion.

"Why don't you hang out with Yami?" Mokuba suggested, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "If Yami doesn't mind, of course." Yami shrugged.

"That's fine with me." Yugi's heart sped up at Yami's words. He was about to be left alone with the man that he loved! Mokuba bounced over to hug Yugi goodbye and slipped some money into his back pocket. Joey ruffled his hair as he walked by and winked devilishly.

"So, where do you want to head to next?" Yami asked lazily when they were gone. Yugi gulped, throat suddenly dry as a bone.

"We've dragged you to what we needed to do already, why don't you pick something for us to do?" Yugi suggested shyly. Yami grinned and nodded before turning and walking out of the store, Yugi hard on his heels. Yami led him down the escalator and headed towards the arcade inside the mall.

"Call me childish, but there's something about the arcade that draws me in every time." Yami said with an embarrassed chuckle. Yugi only stared at the various bright coloured and flashing games in the dimly lit arcade. It looked enticing.

"I don't think it's childish at all." Yugi murmured. "Everybody needs to have fun sometimes." Yami smiled at him and paid at the counter for a bunch of tokens. Gently taking one of Yugi's soft hands, he dumped half the tokens in it. Yugi blinked down at them and then back at him. "I can pay for myself."

"Call it my treat." Yami said with a flirtatious smile. He was rewarded by Yugi's shy, sweet smile in answer. Yugi wandered about, not really knowing what he should play. He had no idea how to play any of the games either. His eye was drawn to a brightly lit pinball machine and walked up to it, staring down at the painted space scene on the table.

"Do you like pinball?" Yugi jumped; he hadn't heard Yami creep up behind him.

"I've never actually played." Yugi stammered. Yami took a token and with a smile placed it in the slot, starting up the game.

"It's fairly easy, just make sure the ball doesn't go down the hole, and try to hit as much of the bonuses as you can." Yami explained, working the pinball table with expert ease. Yugi watched him with fascination, particularly the way the muscles in his arms bunched and coiled as he moved. Yami made a low, satisfied sound as he finished his game and looked at his score.

"Let's see you beat that." He taunted playfully as Yugi stepped up for his turn. Yami's jaw had dropped by the time Yugi finished his game; the smaller boy had beaten his score!

"Are you sure you've never played before?" Yami asked, narrowing his amused eyes at Yugi. Yugi tried to shrug nonchalantly.

"I just like games a lot." He murmured. Yami chortled at this.

"I can tell. What else do you really like?" he asked playfully tilting his head to one side.

"I like to read." Yugi admitted.

"Ah, another thing we have in common." Yami commented, putting his remaining tokens in the change pocket of his wallet. Yugi slid his into the front pocket of his jeans. "There's a large bookstore at the other end of the mall, two stories of books."

"Really?" Yami suppressed the urge to glomp Yugi, the expression on the smaller boy's face was like a kid at Christmas, but twice as cute in Yami's opinion.

"Yes, would you like to go?" Yugi nodded eagerly.

"What about the tokens?" He suddenly asked, remembering.

"Oh, they're good for any day, so save them for a rainy day." Yugi nodded and then followed Yami out of the arcade. Yami led him to the bookstore and Yugi then took the lead, heading for the science fiction aisle.

"Huh, didn't figure you for a sci-fi fan." Yami commented as Yugi browsed.

"Oh?" Yugi's nose wrinkled cutely as he mock-glared up at Yami. "And what did you take me for?" He demanded, poking a playful finger at Yami's chest. A deep, rich chuckle bubbled out of that chest, making Yugi's knees weak again.

"I figured you for a fantasy reader." Yami admitted.

"I do like fantasy." Yugi murmured. "But I feel I... connect better to science fiction."

"Well," Yami said, reaching over Yugi's shoulder. "If you're looking for something good, try this." Yugi could hardly think with Yami so close to him. He turned and they were inches apart. Yami handed him a book and Yugi looked down at it, hoping to calm his racing heart. Calculating God, it was called.

"It's intelligent and well-written, I think you'll enjoy it." Yami said warmly.

"Thank you." Yugi whispered. There was silence for a moment that was broken by the ring of Yami's phone. Yami sighed and pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hello?...Yeah, I'm still with him...ok...ok, I'll pass on the message." Yami shut the phone and looked over at Yugi with what seemed like reluctance in his eyes. "That was Mokuba, he says to meet him at the front door, he'll take you home."

"Okay, thank you for showing me around." Yugi said shyly.

"You're welcome." Yugi turned to go. "I hope that we can meet again sometime." Yugi smiled at him.

"I'd like that." He said, and then murmured to himself. "You have no idea how much I'd like that."

Wolf: Review plz!


	18. Chapter 18

Wolf: I own nothing!

Mokuba and Joey bombarded Yugi with questions the instant he stepped into the limousine. But Yugi was still too tongue-tied and too turned around to make any sense at all of what they were saying to him, let alone make a coherent answer. Joey and Mokuba soon realized that he was exhausted and left him alone.

"Oh crap, we forgot to get shoes." Yugi looked up, horrified.

"No more shopping today, please." He begged, too tired to even contemplate having to go back there. Mokuba sighed.

"We can do it tomorrow, it's just shoes, nothing else." He reluctantly said. Yugi smiled and hugged him gratefully. Joey and Yugi spent about five minutes getting Yugi's new clothes out and bringing them in the house. Mokuba waved one last goodbye before the limo peeled out of the neighbourhood.

"Why don't you sit down?" Joey told Yugi. "You look beat." Yugi nodded and sank into the couch with a low sigh. It had been a busy day for him, with many firsts. His jumbled mind needed time to sort things out. He tried to dissect his and Yami's time alone together, but his mind kept returning to Yami's beautiful eyes and he just couldn't think anymore.

"There!" Joey said from the loft. "All your stuff is in drawers. You're lucky I got such a big set and that I don't have a whole lot of clothes." Joey's grin was teasing, happy. "And I also got an extra hammock and some blankets for a bed for you, how about that?"

"Sounds good." Yugi admitted tiredly. Joey cocked his head at him.

"Why don't you come up here and take a nap? You look like you could use it." Yugi nodded his head and wearily wandered over to the winding staircase and headed up to the loft. He carefully lay down on the hammock, trying not to fall off, and wrapped the warm blanket around himself. His eyelids slipped closed and he drifted off, falling into his first ever real human sleep.

%&%&%&%

Yami wandered through the house, to his piano. He sat down and ran his hands over the keys. He had a little habit, formed over years of practice. He 'played' people; he created a song that brought to mind their unique person. Right now he was going to try to play Yugi.

He didn't have much to go on yet admittedly, but he did know that Yugi was sweet and shy, and so a quiet, high melody took shape under his talented fingers. Add in Yugi's child-like wonder and glee and you had a little bounce to the melody. That was it though, there were no real undercurrents, nothing real deep that he had to go on, so he halted.

As he did he could hear his cousin grumbling up the stairs. "What's up, Seto?" he called. Seto peered around the doorway with a frustrated frown on his face.

"Weeks and no sign of that robot. How could something that sticks out like a sore thumb disappear so completely?" Seto growled, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Well, you did make it so that it could learn." Yami pointed out. Seto just growled at him and stalked off. Yami chuckled. He then sighed as his mind went back to the robot. The house seemed...emptier without it around. He found himself missing the curious questions, and their secret chess game. But then the robot had gone haywire.

The fact that it could disobey his direct order to stay was evidence enough to that fact, even if the admission of love was not. If a robot could disobey any one of the three laws, well, it could do anything, include kill a man. So, they had to find it and destroy it.

And yet, a small image came to him in that moment, just a simple thing really; the robot's eyes. He remembered how much he hated them, because they were so dead. But, in those last moments when he looked into the robot's eyes, feeling only horror, he realized now with a jolt that those eyes which had been so dead before, had looked...alive.

Yami closed the lid on the piano and stood up. He needed to take his muddled mind off of the robot, there was no sense in his thoughts. But the feeling of abject confusion followed him for the rest of the day.

%&%&%&%

Yugi woke up slowly, feeling utterly relaxed and rested. He stretched out languidly, enjoying the feeling of his muscles stretching with him. He yawned widely, feeling his jaw pop slightly and then nuzzled back into his blanket, not ready to give up the warm and peace of his hammock. A low chuckle above him made him open one eye to look at Joey grinning down on him.

"Enjoying your nap?" He asked.

"Mm-hm." Yugi replied, snuggling into his pillow.

"Well, I was going to start making dinner, I just wanted to know if you wanted to help." Joey said. Yugi lifted his head and frowned slightly.

"I don't know how to cook." Joey shrugged.

"We all learn. I can teach you." He replied. Yugi thought a moment and then nodded. He slipped out of the hammock and followed Joey back downstairs. Joey had already set up some of his ingredients. A box of pasta, a can of tomato sauce and a can of tomato paste, an onion, garlic and various spices. A pot of water and a skillet were already heating on the stove.

"Alrighty, today I'll teach you how to make spaghetti and sauce." Joey said with a broad grin. Happily he coached Yugi through the making of the pasta sauce as he kept his eye on the water boiling in the pot. Yugi rubbed at his eyes as he chopped the onion.

"Why am I crying?" He asked, perplexed.

"It's the onion, they make you cry." Joey answered.

"Why?"

"Dunno." Joey shrugged, turning his attention back to the now boiling water and putting the pasta in. In several minutes they sat down at the counter with their plates of spaghetti and ate.

"Oh man, this is good." Joey exclaimed. "Yugi, I think you got a gift." Yugi slurped up a strand of pasta and nodded in agreement. The sauce was really good, and the fact that he had made it with his own hands was even more satisfying.

"Joey, do you think Yami will want to hang out again soon?" Yugi asked. Joey gave him a speculative look.

"You can't rush into this Yugi, it needs to be taken slow. I know you love him, but he doesn't love you, not yet, so you don't want to do anything to scare him off." Joey gently explained.

"I know, I just want to see him again, that's all."

"Well, the fact that he was so interested in you tells me he'll be back for more soon." Joey winked. "In the meantime you can get used to being human, and learning what you like and don't like."

%&%&%&%

One week later Yugi was in the kitchen, baking a batch of cookies. He had found that he was quickly falling in love with the art of cooking, and seemed to have a knack for it, so much so that Joey trusted him to work alone in the kitchen.

He was just putting the cookies in the oven to bake when the doorbell rang. Yugi frowned in puzzlement; who could it be? Mokuba just barged in, talking a mile a minute, when he came to visit so it couldn't be him. Yugi put the timer on and wiped his hands on a towel before walking over to the door.

Opening it he stared up into familiar crimson eyes and a very familiar deep voice greeted him

"Hello, Yugi."

Wolf: Review plz!


	19. Chapter 19

Wolf: I own nothing.

Yugi could do little more than gape up at the man that he was secretly crushing on and waiting for a call from for a week. Yami smiled down at him, crimson eyes glinting in amusement.

"Are you going to invite me in?" He asked playfully. Yugi nodded and stepped aside to allow Yami in. Yami stepped in and looked around with interest. He then inhaled, bringing the scent of chocolate and cookie dough in. "Do I smell cookies?"

"Yes, I just put a batch of chocolate chip cookies in the oven." Yugi explained, wandering over to the kitchen to start clean-up. That way he could avoid letting Yami see that his hands were shaking.

"They smell divine." The slight sexy growl sent a shiver up Yugi's spine.

"Um, what are you doing in this part of town?" Yugi asked, hoping his voice didn't quiver like his knees were doing.

"I came to see you." Yami replied, right behind him. Yugi whirled, startled, and found himself chest to chest with Yami. He took a step back and bumped into the sink. He blushed bright red as he stuttered

"W-why did you do that?"

"There is a gaming convention in downtown today. Since you seem to enjoy games as much as I do, I thought I'd come and invite you." Yami explained, stepping back a little, thinking Yugi was even more adorable when he blushed, if that was even possible.

"Well, I have to finish the cookies." Yugi said uncertainly, desperately wanting to say yes, but knowing he couldn't leave the cookies.

"That's alright." Yami answered. "The convention goes on all day, and there are lots of different things going on, we don't need to go right away. So?" He raised an eyebrow at Yugi.

"Then yes, I will go." Yugi replied, trying not to sound too eager. Yami slid into a stool at the counter as Yugi finished cleaning from baking. The week of waiting had been agony for him. He had wanted to see Yugi so much but he hadn't wanted to seem like a stalker or something, so he had waited until he had a suitable excuse to ask Yugi to hang out. The gaming convention had seemed like a boon from the gods themselves.

He attempted to make small talk with the smaller boy, but Yugi seemed to get a little agitated and he went quiet, simply content to watch Yugi putter around as the cookies baked, filling the warehouse turned house with their sweet fragrance. When the timer dinged and Yugi pulled out the cookies the smell intensified and Yami felt as though he were drowning in it.

"Do you want one, before we go, I mean?" Yugi asked hesitantly.

"I would love one." Yami replied and delicately took the cookie offered to him. He took one bite and Yugi watched as his face slid into an expression of pure bliss. He wanted to take that beautiful face in his hands and kiss the chocolate-tipped lips so much. He looked away; face burning with the intensity of the emotions he was feeling.

"These are incredible." Yami finally said with a soft tone of awe. "Seriously, I've tasted some good food, but this cookie tops all the fancy restaurants and famous dishes that I have eaten." Yugi's face went even darker red.

"You're just saying that." He mumbled, embarrassed.

"Yugi, I never just say anything." Yami said so seriously that Yugi looked up and into grave crimson eyes. He gulped and then nodded.

"Should we get going?" He asked nervously. Yami looked at his watch and nodded. He waited patiently as Yugi pulled on a pair of converse with multicoloured dice decorating them and then headed out the door, wincing slightly at the brightness; the house had been a lot dimmer.

"Do we walk, or did you bring a car or something?" Yami turned to regard Yugi still blinking owlishly in the bright sunlight.

"I brought a car, but it's not far to walk from here." Yami explained. "It's up to you."

"Hm, it's so nice out, why don't we walk?" Yugi suggested, tilting his head in a kitten-like way. Yami found himself quickly becoming unable to say no to that look. He nodded his head mutely and Yugi smiled before bouncing off down the sidewalk, Yami keeping in step.

Yugi found it easier to talk to Yami outside in the open air and chattered away happily as they walked beneath the colourful trees and listened to the fallen leaves crunch beneath their feet. Yami learned that Yugi loved chocolate, but did not like sour candy. Yugi found out that Yami preferred dark chocolate to milk, and had won an award for both his piano playing and his roses in the last couple of years.

"How old are you, Yugi?" Yami asked.

"Eighteen." Yugi replied confidently. It had been the age he and his friends had agreed on and what was on all his forged ID. He grinning at Yami's astounded face.

"Forgive me, you just look so much younger." Yami said sheepishly.

"I get that a lot." Yugi replied. He blinked in wonder as the downtown core came into view, cordoned off and filled with tents, displays, and people wearing the most incredible get-ups.

"A lot of people like to dress up for these as their favourite video game characters, but since you haven't had much experience with video games, I figured I'd forgo the costume this year. I didn't want you to feel out of place." Yugi blushed in pleasure at the thought that Yami had been thinking about his feelings.

"What do you want to do first?" Yugi asked, looking to Yami for guidance in this confusing sea of colour and lights.

"Well, I saw that they had a booth open for a trial of the new Legend of Zelda game that's coming out, and I'd like to give it a try." Yami paused a moment, looking down into Yugi's earnest eyes. "If you don't mind, of course."

"I don't. It will give me a chance to see if I like it, won't it?" Yami nodded in agreement at Yugi's logic. He grabbed a gentle hold on Yugi's forearm so that he didn't lose him, and then plunged into the tight-packed crowd. Yugi's arm felt unnaturally hot where Yami gripped it, and he knew he was blushing once more.

Yami let out a noise of satisfaction seeing that the booth he wanted was as of yet unoccupied. "I'll take a turn, and then you can try, ok?" Yugi nodded at him, and watched the large screen as Yami expertly manoeuvred the little onscreen character, an elfish blonde wearing a green tunic and pants. Yami explained the whole premise of the Zelda franchise as he played the game. After a few minutes the game automatically reset and Yami handed to the controller over to Yugi.

Yugi stepped up, and then felt Yami step up behind him. Yami's breath tickled the back of his neck as Yami explained the controls to Yugi in a quiet voice. Yugi's hands shook at how close Yami was, but he tried to focus on the game, not the fact that Yami had not moved from his spot behind him, even after finishing his instructions.

Yami was doing this on purpose, trying to gauge Yugi's reaction to him. Yugi had tensed somewhat when he had come up so close behind him, but was a little more relaxed now. Yami exhaled deeply, letting his warm breath tickle the back of Yugi's neck. Unlike most people Yugi didn't turn and tell him to move back, he simply shivered slightly and let out a small, unconscious sound not unlike a whimper of a puppy.

Yami felt confident from Yugi's reactions that the younger male was in fact attracted to him. He decided to implement one more test later on when he was bringing Yugi home, and judging on that he may or may not ask Yugi on a date. He was confident though if he did ask Yugi that he would say yes.

"What next?" Yami blinked and came back to himself, realizing that Yugi had finished the demo.

"Why don't we just wander around for awhile, see what looks interesting?" Yami suggested. Yugi nodded eagerly, happily. The two of them wandered around, Yugi watching the other people as much as the demonstrations and events going on throughout the convention. Suddenly Yami halted and Yugi had to slam on the brakes to avoid being caught up in the crowd.

Yami was standing by a vendor, ordering something that looked like pink cobwebs on a stick. "Here you go." Yami said, handing one to Yugi. Yugi gave it a sceptical look.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's cotton candy. You've never had it before?" Yami asked in surprise. Yugi shook his head and imitating Yami, tore a piece off and popped it in his mouth. His eyes widened as the nearly unbearably sweet treat seemed to simply melt away to nothing in his mouth. He gobbled the rest of the cotton candy eagerly while Yami watched with an amused smile.

They did little more than wander around for the rest of the day it seemed. But even so Yugi was tired by the end of it and their pace heading back to his home was slower than the morning. The shadows were growing long and a brisk breeze made the fallen leaves dance as they walked by.

Yami took his chance then, his final test. Slowly, carefully, he rested one hand on Yugi's shoulder, and kept it there. Yugi looked up at him, but gave no other sign. Slowly Yami slid his hand down Yugi's shoulder, down his arm, finally down to his hand. Gently he slid his hand into Yugi's soft one and closed it.

Yugi's head shot up and he stared at Yami in surprise. Yami smiled and Yugi could see gentle reassurance and hesitant hope in his deep ruby eyes. Delicately, Yugi closed his own hand around Yami's, so that they were truly holding hands. Yami's smile grew wider and more confident. The two of them continued to hold hands, right up to Yugi's doorstep.

"Yugi, would it be crazy of me to ask you on a date?" Yami asked as Yugi went to open the door. Yugi froze in shock and delight at Yami's words. He knew he needed to not seem too eager however and appeared to think a moment.

"Depends on the kind of date." He replied playfully, and was suddenly aware that he might be flirting. Yami chuckled deeply, crimson eyes glinting in amusement.

"I think a movie date would be appropriate, don't you?" Yugi tilted his head and then nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Excellent, next Saturday then, I'll call you to iron out the details."

"Okay, thank you for bringing me to the convention today." Yugi said shyly.

"It was my pleasure." Yami replied honestly. "Goodnight, Yugi."

"Goodnight Yami." Yugi waited until Yami was in his car and peeling away before heading inside. Once inside he let out a scream of joy. He had a date!

Wolf: Review plz!


	20. Chapter 20

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yugi grew more and more nervous as Saturday approached. "What if he's just playing with me? What if he just wants sex?" He asked Joey Friday night.

"Will you relax?" Joey pleaded. "It's a movie date. He's not going to go for anything."

"You don't know that." Yugi replied, running a hand through his spiky hair.

"Look, if you're that worried, call up Mokuba and ask how he's been with other people he's dated."

"Do you think he's dated before?"

"I'd think so, he's a good-looking guy, and he's got the confidence of someone who knows he can get it if he wants it." Yugi began to look worried at that. "I don't mean that way. I just mean that he looks like he's been lucky in his love life so far, unlike some people." Joey added in a dark mutter. Yugi reached out for his shoulder, patting it softly.

"You need to stop thinking about that." Joey sighed.

"I know, I know. It's just, how do you forget the most beautiful man you've ever met?" Yugi smiled at that.

"I could argue that, but I won't. And I understand what you mean."

"You would." Joey grinned. "You've been pining for weeks, and now that he's offered you a date you're off the walls with excitement."

"Yeah. You know, I think I will call Mokuba about Yami." Yugi sighed and wandered over to the phone. Dialling the number he waited for someone to pick up.

'**Hello?' **The impatient voice was Seto Kaiba's. Yugi squeaked slightly before he remembered that Seto could not know who it was on the phone and relaxed.

"Hi, can I speak to Mokuba?" He asked politely. There was an aggravated sigh from the other end and then silence for a moment.

'**Hello?'** Mokuba's voice relaxed Yugi even further.

"Hi Mokuba, it's Yugi."

'**Oh, hey Yugi, what's up?' **

"I just wanted to ask you about Yami, does he, does he, you know, treat his dates right?"

'**Is that what you're worried about? Well, don't be. Yami's always treating his dates with the utmost respect and dignity. Trust me, he's not trying to pull a fast one on you.' **All the sudden Mokuba stopped talking. Yugi could hear him conversing with someone in the background and then a voice came to him over the phone.

'**Yugi?'** Yugi's heart skipped a beat, it was Yami.

"H-Hi Yami."

'**Hi, excited about our date tomorrow?' **

"Of course."

'**Good. I have the movies and show times in front of me if you want to decide now what we should see.'**

"Sounds good. What's showing?"

'**Well the only really decent movies showing are the new Nightmare on Elm Street or Iron Man 2, so between those two...'**

"Can we see Iron Man? I don't really like horror movies." It was true. Mokuba had brought him a horror movie when he was still a robot and he could not walk in the dark without being jumpy for weeks and his dreams had taken on a dark tone for awhile.

'**Sure thing.'** Yami chuckled. **'It's showing at 4, 7:30 and 10, I think we should go to the 7:30 showing.'**

"Sure, sounds good."

'**Alright, I'll pick you up at ten to 7, ok?'**

"'Kay."

'**See you tomorrow.'**

"See you, bye."

'**Bye.'**

Yugi heard the dial tone and put the phone down before squealing happily and flinging himself on the couch. Joey grabbed him and tickled him. Yugi giggled and squirmed out of his grip.

"I'm guessing you're not worried anymore?" Joey asked with a smile.

"Nope." Yugi replied. "Now I'm just excited."

%&%&%&%

Yugi waited anxiously for Yami to ring the doorbell, glancing at the clock every five seconds. He tapped his fingers against the counter and sighed, wondering why the things that you wanted to happen never happened fast enough.

Then the doorbell rang. Yugi leapt up and ran for the door. He tried to calm himself before opening it and then quietly did so, peering up at Yami with a smile. Yami returned the smile with one of his own.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah, just give me a second to put on my shoes." Yugi was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, jeans and black and white checked sweater because Mokuba said the theatre was usually kept cold. As he came outside he saw that Yami was wearing a black form-fitting t-shirt and jeans underneath a black leather jacket.

"I would have brought the motorcycle, but I wasn't sure you would be comfortable with that." Yami explained as he led Yugi to the nondescript, black small car idling by the sidewalk. "This is one of Seto's cars, one he uses when he doesn't want people following him around."

"That's neat. And how can I know if I'm comfortable with something if I've never tried it?" Yugi asked as he slid into the passenger seat. Yami buckled up and glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's very true." He replied and then pulled out of park to speed down the street. Yugi said nothing more, not wanting to distract Yami from his driving. Yami seemed to appreciate the gesture, favouring him with a quick smile before his eyes were back on the road.

They were at the theatre in no time, and Yami led Yugi into the recesses, bypassing the refreshments stand to head directly into the theatre itself.

"Are we not getting refreshments?" Yugi asked in puzzlement.

"Oh, we will. We just want to find ourselves a good spot first." Yami explained. He led Yugi up to the back of the theatre, choosing a spot close to the speakers. "The noise won't bother you, will it?" he asked Yugi anxiously. Yugi merely shrugged his shoulders in reply.

Yami then led him back outside to get food and drinks. "Would you mind sharing popcorn?" Yami asked.

"No I don't." Yugi replied.

"I'll get separate drinks, since this is only a first date." Yami gave him a wink. "What would you like?"

"Coke, please." Yami went ahead and ordered for the both of them, and then like a gentlemen, carried all the food back into the theatre.

The movie was good. Truth be told though Yugi was paying more attention to the man sitting next to him than what was going on onscreen. He noticed the little fidgets he made when he found a part boring, the way he leaned forward in his seat, eyes unblinking as a particular tense or interesting scene came up, and the way he'd chuckle deeply in the back of his throat when he found something amusing.

Occasionally he'd look to Yugi, looking for his reaction. And their hands would brush each other's when they went for popcorn. When that would happen Yami would catch Yugi's eye and smile at him warmly. The warm smile sent a fuzzy feeling down into Yugi's insides.

When they emerged from the theatre, blinking in the bright light, Yami automatically took his hand and led him out to the car. He was happy when Yugi didn't protest the move and gently squeezed, delighted when Yugi squeezed back.

He escorted Yugi to the door and then paused, taking his hand once more. "I had a good time tonight." He said softly, not looking away from Yugi's face. "The best I've had in a long time in fact."

"I had a good time too." Yugi admitted. Yami's eyes lit up happily.

"Yugi, would it be crazy if I told you that I was going to kiss you?" Yugi blinked up at him, searching for any kind of teasing in the other's eyes. He saw only seriousness.

"I don't think so." He murmured. Yami smiled and gently cupped Yugi's face in his hands before leaning down to kiss him on the lips gently, chastely. Yugi melted into him, grasping his forearms to hold himself up. All too soon Yami pulled away.

"Goodnight." He murmured before heading back to his car. Yugi touched his lips wonderingly, feeling them tingle.

"Goodnight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~%~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Review plz!


	21. Chapter 21

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yugi was walking on air for the rest of the next day. His senses still buzzed and his lips still tingled from that kiss. His dreams last night had been his first erotic dreams and he had woken up in an embarrassing situation that went away on its own to his immense relief.

Joey noticed his starstruck expression as he cooked up breakfast and chuckled. "So, how was the date?" He teased.

"Yami kissed me." Yugi replied dreamily, propping his chin on his hands as he stared blankly into space. Joey chuckled at the lovestruck expression on his friend's face.

"Well, I guess it went well then." Joey stated, slapping a plate of waffles on the counter in front of Yugi. Yugi blinked out of his daze and ate with gusto. He nodded at Joey, cheeks stuffed full like a chipmunk's. He tried to talk, but then swallowed and tried again.

"Yeah, only I don't know when I'm going to see him next." Joey stretched and yawned.

"I wouldn't worry about it Yugi." He breathed. "The guy kissed you on the first date. He's head over heels for you and you know it." Joey poked a finger at Yugi's chest, making him giggle.

"I guess so." Yugi admitted. "So, do you want to do anything today? I mean, we haven't hung out just you and me before."

"You know they got this new gaming console coming out today from Kaiba Corp. The mall's having a demonstration. You want to go check it out?"

"Sure!" Yugi cried happily and gulped down the rest of his breakfast and ran to change his clothes.

%&%&%&%

"Ok, what's his name?" Yami looked up from his piano at Seto's voice.

"What makes you think I'm seeing someone?" Yami asked nonchalantly. Seto snorted.

"You only ever play Vivaldi Spring when you're in love with someone." Yami smiled at this.

"You know me too well cousin." He admitted. "His name is Yugi. He's the sweetest person I've ever met."

"And where did you meet this person?" Seto wanted to know.

"Actually I met him through Mokuba, he's his friend."

"Really? I've never met anyone with that name before." Seto replied, forehead creasing.

"You really think Mokuba still tells you everything?" Yami questioned. "He's a teenager now after all."

"Don't remind me." Seto groused. "I'm still waiting in terror for the day that he comes home with a piercing or a tattoo."

"Now I don't think Mokuba will go to that extreme, he's a good kid." Yami replied, running a hand over the piano. He then noticed the pristine white suit embellished with the Kaiba Corp pin on the lapel that Seto was going. "Going somewhere?"

"My company's new console is being demonstrated at the mall today. It would be good press for the CEO himself to show up, would it not?"

"I have to agree with that." Yami said and then stood up. "Mind if I tag along?"

%&%&%&%

"So where is this thing?" Yugi asked Joey as they wandered into the mall. Joey shrugged, unconcerned.

"Oh, just head to where the crowd is." He checked his watch. "Anyways they're going to be making some speech right about now, so we should just wait anyways, maybe get a little snack." He added, looking over to the ice cream shop nearby.

"Joey..." Yugi sighed. Joey was usually careful with the small amount of money he could save, except for when it came to sweets. Joey gave him a pleading look.

"Aw, come on. I haven't treated myself in awhile, and I got a big paycheck last time." Yugi smiled at the sad puppy-dog eyes that his friend gave him.

"Alright. But, nothing too expensive, ok?" Joey grinned like a little kid and then bounced over to the ice cream shop. Yugi waited outside, he wasn't hungry and wasn't really in the mood for something sweet. Joey came running back with a dripping cookie dough cone and sat down next to him, licking eagerly at the swiftly melting ice cream.

Yugi waited patiently as his friend gulped down his treat and then stood up, giving Joey a questioning look. "Yeah, yeah we're going." Joey sighed, brushing off his pants and standing up. He and Yugi walked the length of the mall, soon seeing a large crowd gathered in the food court, which had been cleared mostly for the occasion.

They couldn't see the console for all the people standing in the way, so Joey grabbed a hold of Yugi's arm and pushed his way through the crowd to get a better look. "See that, Yugi? That is the future of gaming." Yugi looked doubtfully at the helmet, gloves, slipper-thing and various accessories sitting on the table in front of a big screen TV.

"What does it do?"

"It's virtual reality." Joey explained. "You put on the helmet, gloves and foot-things and grab whatever accessory you need for the game and the helmet turns on and it looks like you're in another place, and the movement of your body dictates how your character moves. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Wouldn't it be easy to damage something?" Yugi asked. Joey furrowed his eyebrow, thinking about that.

"I guess it could-"

"Well, well, if it isn't a stray mutt." Joey was interrupted by an imperious, smug voice. Both him and Yugi flinched, they knew that voice. Joey turned with a snarl to glare at Seto Kaiba.

"Shut up Rich-boy."

"Oh, great comeback."

"I'm in polite company, I'm not going to say what I really want to call you right now." Joey growled angrily.

"Watch it mongrel." Seto rumbled warningly.

"I don't work for you anymore, remember?" Joey shot back. "I don't have to take orders from you."

"Seto, what are you – hello, Yugi." Yugi blushed and came out of hiding behind Joey to say hello to Yami. Smiling, Yami leaned down to kiss Yugi on the nose. He then took Yugi's hand and pulled him close.

"Seto, this is Yugi, my new boyfriend." Yami introduced. Seto held out his hand and Yugi shyly shook it.

"A pleasure Yugi, I am Seto Kaiba."

"I think I'd have to be living under a rock to not know who you are." Yugi murmured, surprised to see Seto's mouth quirk upward in a faint smile.

"That is true." Yami chuckled. "Now, Yugi. What do you say to a dinner date, oh, say, Friday night?"

"I think I can squeeze that in." Yugi returned playfully. Yami kissed his forehead.

"Excellent. Wear something nice, but don't feel the need to dress up too much, I'm not going to take you anywhere real fancy." Yami said and then turned to follow his cousin, who was leaving.

"So, what do you think of him?" Yami asked Seto as he fell in step with his taller cousin.

"He is very cute." Seto mused. "Seems a little skittish, but sweet."

"Yeah, he is really sweet." Yami said with a smile. Seto took one look at him and chuckled.

"You are so smitten."

Wolf: Review plz!


	22. Chapter 22

Wolf: I own nothing

"So, two dates in the space of a week." Joey grinned at Yugi as he frantically tried to find something nice to wear for his dinner date with Yami. "Man, Yami's got it bad for you."

"And I've got it bad for him." Yugi replied. "Do you think that jeans are too casual?"

"Gods, Yugi. You're acting like a girl before her prom." Joey teased. "Just relax. Wear something nice." He stood up and rummaged around Yugi's clothes. "I don't think you want to go too casual, it is a dinner date, so something like this should do."

Yugi looked at the black slacks and white button-up shirt that Joey held out to him. Joey was right, they looked casual enough to not be pretentious, but formal enough to let people know they were actually out on a date. He put on the clothes, admiring how the slacks clung to his slim form and how the soft white of his shirt made his skin seem rosy by comparison.

Joey whistled. "Well, I think we have just discovered that you can look good in anything." He commented, turning back to his book. Yugi blushed at that, but did not try to deny it. He meticulously finger-combed strands of hair back into place, inspected his fingernails and tugged the cuffs of his shirt all the way down.

As though waiting for just that, the doorbell rang. Yugi nearly launched himself down the stairs, tripping over the couch as he sped by on his way to the door. Once there he yanked it open to reveal Yami's smiling face.

Yugi took in the sight of him. Yami was also wearing black slacks, but with a red silk shirt that matched his crimson eyes and had the top two buttons undone, showing off a little of his muscular chest. Yugi felt Yami give him his own onceover before leaning forward to kiss him sweetly on the lips.

"You make sure you have him back at an acceptable time!" Joey yelled from atop the stairs. Yami nodded and waved at him.

"Shall we get going?" Yami asked. Yugi nodded wordlessly, eagerly. Yami chuckled and then gripped Yugi's hand, leading him out to the waiting car. Yugi had been told that the sleek black model was a Mustang, and in Joey's opinion, a very sweet ride.

"So where are we going tonight?" Yugi asked as the Mustang smoothly negotiated the streets.

"A restaurant called Montfort's." Yami answered, keeping a casual, one-handed grip on the steering wheel of the car. "I told you last time that I had a motorcycle, right?"

Yugi was momentarily startled by the quick change of subject, but recovered quickly. "Yes, you did."

"Well, I was wondering if you want to take a ride with me sometime, there's a beautiful little lake outside the city and we could go for a picnic, if you're up for it."

"Sounds wonderful." Yugi replied. He then found that they had pulled into a driveway. In a swift motion Yami was out of the car and on Yugi's side. Like a proper gentleman he opened the door and offered Yugi his hand. Yugi took it with a faint giggle and allowed Yami to pull him up and out of the car.

"What's so funny?" Yami asked as he offered Yugi his elbow. Yugi took it with a smile.

"Oh nothing." He grinned at Yami's confused expression. "It's just, you reminded me of a prince charming from a fairy tale right now."

"Except instead of getting the princess, I got myself another prince." Yami added, gripping Yugi's other hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. Yugi flushed, but he enjoyed Yami's courting of him too much to pay attention to his own embarrassment.

"Reservations please?" The bored-looking hostess asked.

"Two, under Sennen." Yami returned. The hostess, a pale-eyed blonde, looked up then, noticing Yami's good looks.

"Right this way sir." She said with a flirtatious smile. Yugi felt heat rise beneath his collar, though not from embarrassment. The hussy was trying to flirt with his date! He was feeling jealousy. Yami seemed to sense it and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"So, business meeting?" Their hostess asked as they sat down, brushing a hand against Yami's shoulder.

"No, a date actually." Yami replied firmly, being sure to give Yugi's hand another kiss. The hostess' face turned red and she spun on her heel and left.

"Thank you." Yugi said softly.

"No problem. I hate it when girls try to come onto me while I'm on a date. They don't seem to get it most of the time either. At least she got the message."

Yami was interrupted by their server, a young man, coming over to take their orders. By the delighted grin that lit up his freckled face when Yami reached over to take Yugi's hand, they guessed that he too was gay. Yami refrained from ordering any sort of wine, Yugi was underage after all, and he didn't want to be drinking it alone.

Yami ordered a medium rare steak with potatoes and asparagus on the side. Yugi ordered a plate of chicken pesto pasta with garlic bread as his side. Yugi decided to be a little more grown-up tonight and only ordered water as his drink, Yami doing the same.

"I thought you said we weren't going anywhere fancy?" Yugi asked as he looked around at the mahogany wood tables, plush seats and expensive lighting.

"Oh, this isn't that fancy." Yami replied. "I've been in restaurants where you can't pronounce or even fathom what the things on the menu are. Where the glasses are actual crystal, and a plate can cost you over a hundred dollars."

"Holy." Yugi breathed.

"Yeah, I don't go to those kinds of places unless it's a dinner that my cousin dragged me to in order to have intelligent conversation." Yami explained, cutting into his newly arrived steak. "I just find those places to be far too...snooty."

"I can imagine." Yugi murmured.

"What I actually prefer is a good home-cooked meal, believe it or not." Yami continued. "Just something about food prepared by hand, prepared with love is so much better than anything you can find in a restaurant."

"Maybe I could cook for you sometime then." Yugi offered. Yami smiled at him.

"I'd like that."

The waiter came back as Yami was getting Yugi to try a bite of his steak. "Well, I can see that everything is going well here." He said happily. "Can I get you two any desserts?" Yami turned to Yugi.

"Would you like to share some cheesecake?" He asked. "It's to die for here."

"Ok." Yami nodded at the waiter.

"Ok, one cheesecake with two forks coming right up." He turned to go and then looked back at the two of them. "You two are just too cute, do you know that?" He then flounced off towards the kitchen.

%&%&%&%

"I hope you gave our waiter a wonderful tip." Yugi said as they got back into the car.

"Oh, I did." Yami replied, revving the engine. "He was genuinely happy for us, I don't get that reaction too much."

"I see." Yugi said, eyes tracking the neon signs outside his window.

"So," Yami began. "If I were to ask you if you wanted to take a motorcycle trip out to the lake tomorrow, would you say yes?"

"I think I might." Yugi replied with a grin.

"Good. We should get an early start, so I'll pick up about...9?"

"Sounds good." By this point they were back at Yugi's place. Yami leaned over the seat and kissed Yugi full on the lips, letting it linger this time. When they pulled back Yugi reluctantly exited the car and waved goodbye as Yami sped off into the night.

%&%&%&%

Yami walked in the front door of the mansion. "So, how was it?" He jumped at the sound of Seto's voice.

"It went great. Yugi's agreed to let me take him on a ride tomorrow to the lake."

"Ah, so this is getting serious then." Seto replied with a smirk. Yami raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know, I really wonder why you fired that Joey boy, he seems like a good kid, and he's awfully cute." He said thoughtfully. "You usually like to keep the cute ones around."

"Drop it Yami." Seto said in a warning tone.

"No, I will not, because obviously this is a sore point to you." Yami replied. Seto glared at him.

"He came on to me, ok?" Seto growled. "That's why he was fired."

"Really? He doesn't seem like the type. He was all worried about Yugi tonight, told me to make sure I had him back at a respectable time." He chuckled. "I think he may be too kind-hearted, or simple, to try something like go after you for your money." Seto merely growled again. Yami shrugged and headed up the stairs. "Maybe you should find out the whole story sometime before jumping to conclusions."

Wolf: Review plz!


	23. Chapter 23

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yugi felt nervous anticipation as he waited for his boyfriend to pick him up for a motorcycle ride. He'd never been on a motorcycle before, which wasn't saying much as there were many things he had never done before, but this was slightly dangerous, and it sent a thrill through him to think about it. It also thrilled him to know that he would be alone with Yami, really alone, for the first time.

He had, on Joey's advice, worn a pair of sturdy jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Joey lent him a pair of boots that were only slightly too big. Yugi had opted to wait on the front stoop of the house, and was currently fiddling nervously with his hair.

A slow, rumbling roar soon reached his ears, growing louder by the second. In a moment Yugi saw a rider upon a jet black motorcycle swerve around the corner, heading towards him. He stood up and went to the edge of the sidewalk to greet Yami. Yami pulled off the black helmet at the sight of him, revealing his hair pulled back into a low ponytail, and reached around Yugi to pull him close and kiss him sweetly.

"Are you sure about this?" Yami asked in a husky voice. Yugi licked his lips and nodded eagerly. Yami smiled then and handed over another black helmet and a black leather jacket like the one that he was wearing. Yugi saw immediately that the helmet wasn't going to fit over his hair and gave Yami a questioning look.

Yami chuckled and reached into his pocket, taking out a thick hair elastic. He beckoned to Yugi and then gently pulled Yugi's hair into a low ponytail like his. Yugi shivered at the sensation of Yami's warm breath on his neck and then gasped as Yami kissed that spot lightly.

Yami turned him around to help him into the helmet and then patted the seat behind him. Yugi hesitated a fraction of a second and then lifted his leg over the bike and settled behind Yami, not quite touching him.

Yami turned to smile at him before gripping his arms and pulling them around so that they were locked around his waist. This action also pulled Yugi's body farther up until it was flush against Yami's back. He blushed madly at their positions.

"You'll want to hold on." Yami said in a sexy growl. He started up the engine. "Ready?" He asked.

"Yes!" Yugi replied, the growl of the engine setting his heart pounding furiously. Yami chuckled and then revved the engine and sped down the street. Yugi lost the ability to breathe as the wind whipped at his body and the street sped away just beneath his feet. He squeezed his arms tighter around Yami, feeling terrified elation run through his body.

He could feel Yami's body turning with every turn and soon found the easy rhythm himself. The terror died and he began to be able to keep his eyes open for longer periods until he was no longer closing them at all. The faint bumpiness of the ride still unnerved him, but somehow, with his arms around Yami, it didn't seem to matter as much.

When they got to the highway Yugi gasped as Yami sped up even faster, the ride becoming smoother. Yugi distantly thought that this must be like what it feels like to fly, because it was like he couldn't even feel the ground beneath them as the scenery passed by in a blur.

When Yami finally turned off the highway, onto a dirt road and stopped, Yugi felt rattled and exhilarated all at once. Yami stepped off the bike and offered Yugi a hand. Yugi took it and stood up, feeling as though his legs had turned to jelly.

"Are you alright?" Yugi smiled at the concern in Yami's voice and face.

"I'm fine." He replied. "I've never experienced anything so exhilarating before."

"Well, I'm glad you liked it." Yami pulled off his helmet and wrenched the tie out of his hair, freeing it to stand in all its spiky glory. Yugi took his own helmet off and took a deep breath of fresh, clean air. For the first time he took a look around himself.

Trees as far as the eye could see. They were standing in the one patch of gravel parking space to be seen. All the rest was untamed wilderness with bright flames of colours from those trees shedding their leaves. All around were the sounds of bird calls and small animals moving through the under-brush.

"Come on." Yami said, taking Yugi's hand and leading him down a small dirt path that he hadn't seen. As they pushed through the small noises stilled and a deep, profound silence fell over the woods. When Yami pushed through the bushes, coming out onto a small, rocky beach the stillness seemed to take on new dimensions at the sight of the silent, deep blue lake stretched out in front of them.

"Wow." Yugi breathed, voice barely above a whisper.

"I know." Yami murmured, and then set the cooler he had brought with him down on the ground. Hooking one arm around Yugi's waist he drew the younger boy down to the ground. "Come sit. This is a picnic after all." Yugi nodded and settled down next to Yami as the older man opened the cooler.

"So, peanut butter and banana, or ham and cheese?" Yami asked, holding up two different sandwiches. Yugi debated a moment and then grabbed the peanut butter and banana out of Yami's hand, but not before Yami captured it and kissed the palm lightly.

"You are a flirt, aren't you?" Yugi teased as Yami released his hand.

"Only when I really like the person." Yami replied with a wink. Yugi felt reassured by this, not that he really had any doubts about Yami's genuine feelings for him, but it seemed to help to have that affirmation from that person. "You definitely like your sweets." Yami commented with a chuckle as Yugi took a big bite out of his sandwich.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Of course not." Yami replied, sliding closer to Yugi. "You yourself are just as sweet after all." He brushed his lips against Yugi's briefly, darting his tongue out to lick up a bit of peanut butter stuck at the corner. Yugi squeaked and blushed at the treatment, feeling heat rise in his body at Yami's touch.

Yami and Yugi continued to eat, Yugi getting pulled into Yami's lap after a couple minutes. They didn't say much, preferring to admire the beauty around them and of each other. Yami's arm around Yugi made him feel secure, and the slight massaging motions of the hand against his stomach soothed him into relaxing himself against his boyfriend.

When they were done there lunch Yugi did something that surprised them both; he tilted his head back and pushed himself up to press his lips against Yami's. After an initial stunned moment Yami returned the kiss eagerly, running both hands over Yugi's chest and stomach.

"Gods Yugi, what you do to me." Yami murmured wonderingly as they parted. Yugi blinked back at him innocently.

"What do I do to you?" He asked innocently. Yami growled and pulled him closer.

"You make me want to do so many wicked things to you." He whispered sensuously in Yugi's ear before nipping it lightly. Yugi shivered, both in desire and nervousness.

"Yami, I-I don't think...don't think I'm ready for...for..." Yami's lips on his halted his stuttering.

"I know, koi, and I will respect that, for however long it takes you to become comfortable enough with me to allow me to make love to you." Yami gently whispered.

"Thank you." Yugi whispered back softly. Yami merely nuzzled the back of his neck, telling him it would be ok in his own way.

"Come on." Yami finally said. "We should be getting back."

%&%&%&%

Joey wandered through the mall, not really looking for anything, he couldn't afford anything, but it was fun sometimes to window shop. He had a job, a good job, but it didn't pay like his gig at Kaiba Corp. had; Kaiba Corp. was notorious for overpaying workers, even the minimum wage ones. He shook his head; no sense in dwelling over what was done. In a year from now he'd be going to college for mechanics, all he needed was the money saved up.

He paused at the game store, seeing they still had a demo for that new virtual reality thing up. He decided to go in and give it a try, just for fun. Just as he got there and was handling the merchandise a very unwelcome voice sounded behind him.

"Why bother mutt? It's not as though you can afford it." Joey turned and snarled at Seto.

"So what? I'm not even allowed to look?" His retort was met by a contemptuous smirk.

"I'm surprised that you're not begging in the streets like the mongrel you are right now." Seto said idly. Joey bristled indignantly at that.

"It's not as though I can't get a job." He snapped.

"Oh? Did you whore yourself out to your current employer too?" Seto asked. Joey's face flushed a deep red and he raised one fist as though to hit Seto. At the last second he stopped himself.

"I am no whore." He hissed. "Maybe you, all high and mighty, can't seem to understand that just because someone tells you they like you, doesn't mean they're after your money. If that's the only experience you've had with people then I feel sorry for you." Joey paused. "But maybe you should try to get to understand a person's intentions before accusing them of something, or better yet, firing them."

Joey turned and stalked away, leaving a very stunned Seto behind.

Wolf: Review plz!


	24. Chapter 24

Wolf: I own nothing!

Some weeks after the date on the motorcycle Yugi and Yami's relationship was reaching new heights. Yami had gone from chaste kisses and gentle touches to making out with Yugi while his hands ran all over his body. Yugi found himself growing bolder each time to the point where he could initiate a make-out session, giving as good as he could get.

The other result of this upscale of sexual energy between the two of them was that Yugi began to experience sex dreams, powerful ones that woke him up sweaty and trembling and more often than not with a slight problem. He didn't know that Yami was also experiencing dreams as well, more powerful than he'd ever felt with anyone else. It took all his self-control not to simply jump his young boyfriend whenever he saw him sometimes.

"So, how are things going with that boyfriend of yours?" Seto asked with a devilish look in his eyes one day as Yami came out of that week's third ice cold shower.

"Things are going great." Yami replied, tightening the sash of his bathrobe. Seto gave him a look. "Just because we're not having sex doesn't mean things aren't going fine." Yami growled.

"Oh really?" Seto replied. "The longest relationships I had I was having sex with them after the first date."

"That's because your dates were messed and only wanted a piece of the action." Yami countered. "Yugi's not like that, he wants to be with me because he loves who I am." Seto's shoulders slumped just slightly.

"I doubt there will be anyone that will want to be with me for that reason." He said softly.

"You would if you'd allow people to get close to you, but you keep shoving anyone who's not family away." Yami replied. "If you don't get to know the person how do you know what they really intend for you?"

"You're referring to the Mutt, aren't you?" Seto gave Yami a jaundiced look.

"Maybe I am." Yami shot back. "I know you like him, you used to go on about the fights you two would get into. You never chatter that much about someone, and you certainly don't allow your employees to argue with you."

"Mm, maybe you're right." Yami knew that being able to drag those words out of his stubborn cousin was one of the highest accomplishments he'd ever have ever in his life. Seto went to go, but then paused for a second. "You know, your boyfriend reminds me of someone, his eyes in particular, but I can't seem to put my finger on it."

He then walked away. Yami frowned as he went into his bedroom; now that Seto had mentioned it Yugi's eyes did seem familiar to him too. He shook it off though, focussing on getting dressed. A knock at his door made him look up.

"Come in!" He called as he pulled on his shirt. Seto sauntered into the room.

"I forgot to give you this." He said, holding out a blue invitation. "It's for the Halloween company dance. It's a masquerade."

"As usual." Yami sighed. "Am I allowed to bring someone?"

"Of course."

%&%&%&%

"Joey, do you think I should tell Yami about being a robot?" Joey looked up from the stove, frowning slightly at Yugi.

"Where did this come from?" He asked, flipping the pancake on the pan.

"It's just...we've been going out for awhile, and I think we're both getting ready to take the next step, but...I just feel like I'm lying to him by not telling what I used to be."

"Aren't you worried that he'll go nuts on you if you tell him?"

"A little bit." Yugi replied miserably. "I just feel like a jerk for not telling him though." Joey turned off the burner and went over to his friend, who was sitting at the counter with his face in his hands.

"If you feel that it's right to tell him, tell him." He said quietly. "If he really loves you he'll be able to get over it and realize that though you were a robot, you have a heart, and are human now."

"I guess so." Just then the phone rang. Joey took a look at the caller ID and then handed the phone to Yugi with a smile.

"It's lover-boy." Yugi smiled back and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

'**Good morning koi.'**

"Good morning koi, what's up?"

'**My cousin has informed me that I am allowed to invite a guest to his company's annual Halloween masquerade ball. I was wondering if you'd like to go?'**

"Yami, I'd love to go." Yugi replied. "What do you think I should go as?"

'**Oh, a masquerade just means you wear a mask along with dress clothes, so that suit of yours will do quite nicely.'**

%&%&%&%

Yugi pulled nervously at his collar for the hundredth time in the limo. Yami had sent it for him, seeing as Seto had asked his cousin to be there early. Yugi's hand went to the mask that Yami had bought him at his side. It was silver, delicately whorled with small amethyst gems the same colour as his eyes inlaid in it.

"We're here sir." The driver said from up front. Yugi got up and put on the mask before heading inside, showing his invitation to the doorman. He walked into the large ballroom and paused, looking around uncertainly for Yami.

"Looking for someone?" His boyfriend's voice teased as a familiar arm snaked around his waist. Yugi looked up into Yami's laughing eyes partially hidden behind a crimson mask made out to look like flames. Yugi leaned up to kiss Yami in answer. "Well then, shall we go in?" Yugi nodded and Yami took his hand, leading him down into the ballroom.

Yugi saw a few jealous looks being hurled his way as Yami led him over to the head table. Yami though ignored all of them in favour of sitting Yugi down and kissing his hand lightly. Yugi still found he blushed whenever Yami did that, especially when Seto sitting right there snickered at the move.

The dinner went by slowly, but then the dancing started. Yami pulled him onto the dance floor and proceeded to lead Yugi through everything from the Macarena to the box step. Finally a slow waltz began to play and Yami pulled Yugi close, entwining the fingers of their joined hands.

"You know I've been thinking that you remind me of someone." Yami murmured as they danced.

"Like who?" Yugi asked with a tilt of his head.

"There was a robot that we used to have in the house, before it went haywire." Yami replied. "It had eyes like yours. It was a strange thing, it seemed almost human." Yugi glanced away, stomach knotting tightly. He couldn't keep hiding his past from Yami.

"Yami, can we go somewhere where we can talk alone?" Yami was startled by the request, but looking down into his boyfriend's worried eyes he nodded and led Yugi off the dance floor. Yami led him out into the hallway.

"What's wrong Yugi?" He asked, gently pulling Yugi close.

"Yami, I was the robot in your house." Yugi admitted quietly. Yami's arms fell away from him and he took a step back, brow knotted in confusion.

"Yugi, what are you saying? You realize what you're saying is impossible."

"It's true though. Here's the proof. I played chess with you, secretly. When I confessed my love to you, you thought I'd gone haywire. You let me play your piano." Yami took another step back.

"You're a robot?" He whispered, horror in his voice.

"I'm human." Yugi answered. "The robot was only the outer shell. I developed a soul, Yami." Yugi looked up at Yami standing there, tears in his eyes. "Please say something."

Yami only shook his head wordlessly, eyes confused and horrified. Yugi tried to step towards him, but Yami only stepped away from him, still shaking his head. Letting out a hoarse, heartbroken sob Yugi turned and ran from the building. Yami stared after him, but did not follow.

Wolf: Angst! Review plz!


	25. Chapter 25

Wolf: I own nothing. Warning, lemon ahead! Don't like, don't read.

Joey hummed to himself as he made hot chocolate. There were clouds gathering in the sky and the weather station promised a fantastic thunderstorm happening anytime soon. He loved thunderstorms, loved the raw power of them and the natural light show that it brought. He was just adding a bit of cinnamon to his drink when the door burst open.

Yugi walked in and immediately flung himself face-down on the couch before bursting into hysterical sobs. Joey blinked, startled, and then set down his mug and walked over to Yugi. He rested a hand on Yugi's back, feeling the smaller boy shaking with the force of his sobs.

"Yugi? What's wrong?" Joey asked, growing more concerned as Yugi curled himself up real small and continued to sob. "Yugi please tell me." Joey pleaded.

"Y-Ya-Yami." Yugi managed to choke out between sobs. Joey's insides went cold. What had happened?

"What did Yami do?" Joey coaxed. Yugi took a shuddering breath, trying to calm down.

"I-I told him about being...being the robot at the mansion." Yugi paused as another sob ripped out of him.

"What did he do? What did he say?" Joey asked, feeling his stomach twist in knots.

"He didn't have to say anything." Yugi replied bitterly. "His eyes said it all. He was horrified by me. I couldn't stay there after that." Yugi put his head back down and began to sob once more. Joey put his hand on Yugi's shoulder, but Yugi shrugged it away, wanting to be alone in his grief.

The cold feeling in Joey went suddenly burning hot at the sight of his buddy so broken up. There would be hell to pay, he swore to himself. He wrenched open the front door and into the night as the heavens opened up and a torrent of rain spilled down.

%&%&%&%

"You left early." Yami looked up from the glass of scotch that he had pilfered from the kitchens to regard Seto. "I'm surprised, that's all, especially when you have a date with you." At the mention of Yugi, Yami let out a low sigh.

"It seems you're not the only one unlucky in love." Yami said forlornly. Seto gave him an odd look.

"And what makes you say that?" He questioned. Yami sighed again and then told Seto everything that Yugi had told him. Seto remained silent the entire time before expressing his opinion.

"Bullshit." Yami blinked at him.

"Excuse me?"

"That's bullshit. I'm the best at spotting a faker or a liar and the times that I've met Yugi he always, always seemed genuine to me. His emotions were never faked. I have serious doubts that he is a robot."

"But he told me things only that robot would know!" Yami insisted. Seto closed his eyes and sat down beside Yami.

"My scientists are now telling me that it is not in the realm of fantasy that an artificial intelligence could become real." He said quietly. "They say that there is no way of knowing where consciousness comes from, or whether it can be awoken in something. They have since advised me against working on more AIs." He chuckled softly.

"What are you saying Seto?" Yami asked tiredly.

"That you shouldn't throw away something just because it wasn't exactly what you were expecting?" Seto replied. "Or maybe that the nature of things always changes. Now, tell me this, do you love him?"

"Yes." Yami replied unhesitatingly, miserably.

"Then you need to figure out whether you love him enough to forget his past." Yami gave him a sardonic look.

"You, giving relationship advice, that's a laugh." Seto shrugged his shoulders. A knock at the door interrupted any further discussion. A maid bustled in not moment later.

"Sirs there is someone at the door asking for Master Yami." She said politely.

"Who is it?" Yami asked tiredly.

"I don't know. He's big with shaggy blonde hair though." Yami got up and headed for the door. Joey stood just inside, dripping rainwater onto the floor. Yami walked up to him. Joey lifted his head and Yami had just enough time to see the anger in his eyes before a fist slammed into the side of his head, knocking him back a step.

Joey's hand gripped his collar, hauling him up to the taller boy's livid face as he hissed "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear you apart!"

"Joey..." Yami started, but was shaken into silence.

"You bastard, you really think that Yugi's feelings toward you were fake?" Joey yelled.

"He..."

"He was a robot, yah, so what? He's human, that robot body was only a shell, a facade." Joey continued, not allowing Yami to get in a word edgewise. "He's got a human mind, and a human heart. Which is currently breaking into little pieces because of you." Joey growled. "He's at home, on the couch, bawling his eyes out because you rejected him."

Finished with his tirade Joey let go of Yami's collar and stood there, panting slightly. Utter and complete self-loathing welled up inside of Yami. What was he thinking? He had to know that Yugi loved him, he could feel it just looking into those beautiful eyes of his. So why was he getting so hung up about this?

Moving quickly he pushed Joey aside and ran out the door. A moment later Joey heard a car rev and saw the taillights speed away. He grinned and then looked out into the rainy night, shoulders sagging at the thought of having to walk home.

"Well, if it isn't a little lost puppy." Joey flinched at the familiar, unwelcome voice behind him. He turned to glare at Seto.

"I was just leaving." He growled and headed for the door. A hand around his waist stopped him and he was drawn back against a hard, warm chest.

"It's pouring rain, you'll catch your death out there." Seto's voice was soft, strange. Joey tried to squirm away, but the arm only tightened.

"And what do you care?" He finally snarled. "Last time I checked I confessed my feelings to you and you fired me!" Slowly the arms around him withdrew, but before he could get away those same hands were on his shoulders and turning him around to gaze into Seto's grave blue eyes.

"Joey..." Seto paused and then sighed. "You don't know what it's like, having people try to go out with you for the fame and the money. I got so used to it...I guess I just came to expect that's all I would get." He admitted in a small voice. Joey was startled to say the least; he'd never seen Seto Kaiba this open with anyone. "And then, Joey, and then to have someone who you genuinely liked come up to you and say things like you did, and to believe that they were only lies, how do you think that made me feel?"

"Like your world had dropped out beneath your feet." Joey whispered, staring up, mesmerized by the softened expression in Seto's eyes. "I didn't lie to you, Kaiba-"

"Seto." Seto stressed in a slightly husky voice. "I know that now, but is it too late?" Joey stared into those hopeful azure eyes and slowly shook his head. His heart began to beat faster as Seto leaned in close. Seto's lips brushed his and Joey closed his eyes at sensation of the older man's lips on his. He lifted his hands to tangle them in Seto's hair and Seto responded by slipping his tongue in to massage the inside of his mouth.

"Stay the night." Seto commanded when they parted. Joey stared up at him dazedly.

"Well, I guess I could, if you're going to be that persuasive."

%&%&%&%

Yugi had not moved from his spot curled up on the couch since Joey had left. He couldn't stop crying, though he tried. But every time he thought about Yami his heart squeezed painfully and the deep, wrenching sobs would begin again, sending a fresh wave of tears cascading down from his eyes.

He heard the front door open and then close again. Someone sat down at the edge of the couch and lightly touched his head. "Go away, Joey." Yugi pleaded in a whisper. He just wanted to be left alone.

Yami hesitated a moment before gently touching Yugi's face, and leaning down to kiss his cheek, tasting salt from Yugi's tears on his tongue. Yugi's eyes popped open in surprise and he stared up at Yami with a mixture of confusion, hurt and dismay in his eyes.

"W-What are you doing here?" Yugi asked, turning over onto his back to look at Yami better.

"Making sure that I don't go through with making the hugest mistake of my life." Yami whispered huskily, reaching out to caress Yugi's face. He was thrilled when Yugi responded by bringing one hand up to place it over Yami's.

"Your face." Yugi whispered then, reaching out to cup the side the side of Yami's cheek with one warm hand. "What happened?"

"Your friend Joey punched me and then told me I was being a jerk." Yami replied with a chuckle. Yugi's eyes widened. "He was right. It shouldn't matter what you once were. You are my koi now, human through and through. I should have known that because every time I look in your eyes I see the kind of love that most humans could only dream of." He paused a moment, looking down in obvious shame. "I just want to say how sorry I am, and I hope you can forgive me for my mistakes."

Yugi stared up into his earnest, loving crimson eyes before cupping his face in both hands and pulling him down into a long, passionate kiss. Yami wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist, pulling him against him and moaned into the kiss. Yugi pulled away, eyes dancing with laughter.

"To err is human." He intoned. Yami let out a long, relieved sigh and gently nuzzled Yugi's neck.

"I love you so much, thank you for taking me back." Yugi giggled slightly, refusing to give up his grip on his lover.

"Yami, I've been in love with you since I've been a robot, of course I'd give you another chance."

Wolf: Review plz!


	26. Chapter 27

Wolf: I own nothing!

Joey mumbled and snuggled closer the warm something beside him. His eyes shot open as that warm something wrapped arms around him and let out a contented purring sound. He found himself nose to nose with Seto Kaiba. He squeaked in surprise when Seto's arms tightened further around him and deep-sea blue eyes opened to regard him sleepily.

Joey giggled slightly, the events of the previous night finally coming back to him. "What's so funny, puppy?" Seto asked groggily. The tone only made Joey giggle harder.

"Sorry, it's just...you're always so cool and composed, no one would ever know that you're so dazed when you wake up." Joey explained. Seto raised an eyebrow at that.

"I've never actually been comfortable enough with someone to fall asleep with them beside me." He admitted. "So no one would know that for that reason." Joey burrowed into the blankets, nuzzling at Seto's neck.

"Having you say that you trust me may be the sweetest thing I ever heard from you." He murmured against Seto's throat. Seto hummed softly and leaned down to kiss Joey gently on the lips. Suddenly the bedroom door slammed open, interrupting them.

"Seto! Seto it's time to get-" Mokuba trailed off at the sight of his brother and Joey in Seto's bed, probably naked. He blinked a couple times before a wide, mischievous grin split his face.

"Oh god, finally!" He yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. He ran off down the hall, chanting happily "Seto's got a boyfriend!"

"Does he?" Joey asked with a faint smile. Seto sat up, taking Joey with him.

"If you think you can put up with me." He replied with a trademark smirk.

"I have a feeling that I'm the only one that can." Joey shot back. Seto chuckled and got up, hunting around for clothes for him and Joey. He then looked at himself and at Joey's body.

"I think a shower is in order." He said, and then in one swift movement scooped Joey off the bed. He carried the protesting teen bridal-style into the adjoining bathroom.

"I can do it on my own!" Joey protested as Seto turned on the shower and closed the curtain around the both of them.

"But if you do that I don't get to do this." Seto whispered, taking the body wash and using his hands to spread it over Joey's body. Joey let out a low moan and nearly melted into a pile of puppy goo at the feeling of Seto's skilled hands massaging the body soap into him. However when Seto tried to grope him Joey smacked his hands away.

"Not in the shower!" Joey yelled at him.

"And why not?" Seto demanded, going to grope him again.

"Because it's really slippery in here and I'd rather not wind up going to the hospital." Joey snapped, pushed Seto back a little.

"You have a point." Seto admitted grudgingly. "There goes one of my fantasies." He muttered. Joey gave him a scandalized look.

"And just how many fantasies do you have about me? And how long have you been having them?" The lecherous look that Seto gave him was not reassuring to say the least. He hurriedly finished with the shower and lit out of the bathroom, Seto hard on his heels. Joey got dressed in a hurry, Seto at a more leisurely pace.

"Joey." Seto said quietly as Joey headed for the door. Joey looked back at him questioningly. "Did you know what your friend Yugi was in the beginning?" Joey smiled.

"Well, kind of hard not to, seeing as he was lying low at my place until he got himself a human body." Seto's eyebrow lifted at that but he had something else to ask first.

"How did he seem to you when you first met him?" Joey gave him a slight frown.

"What struck me most were his eyes. Every other robot it was like the lights were on, but nobody was home. They were empty. Yugi was different. When you looked into his eyes, someone looked back at you, someone alive, conscious, someone with a soul." He took a deep breath. "Does that answer your question?"

"It answers that question. Now my next question as you probably could guess is how exactly Yugi was able to turn human."

"Well, it's kind of unbelievable." Joey said, twisting his shirt awkwardly. "You probably would say I was on something."

"Puppy, one of my robots developed a soul. I'm pretty sure I should strike the term unbelievable and any of its synonyms from my vocabulary." Seto deadpanned. Joey bit his lip before answering slowly

"Yugi was granted a human body by the mother-goddess, specifically Isis." Seto's eyebrows lifted even higher. "If you don't believe me, ask Mokuba, he was there." Seto nodded and headed to the door, Joey grumbling along behind him.

"Mokuba?" Mokuba looked up, mouth full of cereal. "Were you involved in a ritual of the mother-goddess to give Yugi a human body?" Mokuba blinked and then swallowed his cereal.

"Yeah, although it was Kia who summoned Her."

"Who's Kia?" Seto asked.

"A shopkeeper. She was really cool, maybe you'd like to meet her?"

"Would I like to meet someone that can summon a goddess? Yes, I think that would be educational." Seto replied. "I'd also like to have a chance to sit down and talk to Yugi."

"What for?" Joey asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Relax, puppy, I'm not going to hurt the boy. I just would like to discuss getting certain legal documents for him."

"I already got him a fake birth certificate and health card." Joey said, furrowing his brow. "I thought about getting him a driver's license, but thought it would be better for him to learn to actually drive first."

"That was probably wise. And I think I can probably get far more authenticated falsified documents for Yugi, as well as confirmation of schooling and other such paper trails that most human beings leave behind."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Joey said, blinking a little.

"I'd also like to chat with him about what he plans to do with the rest of his life."

"You mean like a career?" Mokuba asked. Seto nodded. "He'd probably love to be a librarian."

"Or a chef." Joey added, licking his lips at the thought of Yugi's cooking.

"Well, I'd like to discuss that with him, and then possibly financial help in paying for any education he might need."

"Geez, did the sex scramble your brains or something big brother?" Mokuba asked. "Because you really are acting wonky today."

"I feel responsible for the success of Yugi, ok?" Seto replied. "It was my technology that brought him into this world, I'd be damned if I'll let him flounder because of his...unique origins."

"Does that mean we're adopting him?" Mokuba asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

"More like helping him get his foot in the door of a normal life." Seto explained. "Now finish your breakfast and we'll go see him." Mokuba muttered into his cornflakes as Seto sauntered off

"I hope we don't find him and Yami in a compromising position."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~%~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~%~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Review plz!


	27. Chapter 28

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yugi awoke to find himself lying on top of a warm, hard surface that moved up and down regularly. Blearily he opened his eyes to the sight of Yami's chest right in front of him. After making love last night they'd both taken a shower and decided to retire in the same hammock. Since the hammock was fairly small Yugi had wound up on top of Yami, which Yami had no protest to.

Yugi nuzzled his face into his lover's chest, feeling the strong heart beat beneath the skin. A soft contented hum escaped Yami's lips and his arms wrapped tighter around Yugi. Yugi sighed and ran his hands over Yami's toned biceps, inciting a low purr from the body he was on top of.

All the sudden the front door opened and Joey's bellowing voice rang out. "You two better be decent in here!" He stomped up the stairs and was confronted by Yami's baleful, crimson-eyed glare from the hammock.

"We're decent, but we were sleeping. Do you mind telling me why that had to change?" Yami growled. Joey grinned sheepishly.

"Seto wants to talk to Yugi." Yugi blinked and started to look nervous.

"Why does he want to talk to me?" He asked shakily. Yami sensed his anxiety and held him close.

"It's ok, Yugi. Seto just wants to discuss your future with you." Joey assured him. Yugi nodded, letting out a sigh of relief before him and Yami untangled themselves from the hammock. Yugi pulled out some clothes for Yami and Joey left them to get dressed.

"You want coffee, Seto?" Joey asked as he put the brewer on. Seto waved him off and tapped impatiently at the countertop. Soon Yugi and Yami came wandering down, still looking a little rumpled. Joey grinned and began making a batch of pancakes for them.

Yugi sat down nervously beside the imposing CEO that had once been his master. Seto's cool blue eyes swept over him and then amazingly he smiled. "I should have known when we met who you were, the eyes didn't change."

"Get to the point Seto, you're chumminess is scaring him, and quite frankly me as well." Yami grumbled, hooking an arm around Yugi's waist as he sat down.

"Yes, that. Yugi, I was wondering what sort of career you were thinking of pursuing." Seto said in a business-like tone. "I may be able to help you reach it."

"To tell you the truth, I wasn't so sure I'd be around long enough to have a career." Yugi admitted softly. "Besides, you need an education for that sort of thing, don't you?"

"You do, but being who I am I can get you falsified documents that would make it seem like you've at least had a high school education."

"Oh, you can do that?"

"If I contact the right people of course." Seto replied smugly.

"Well, like I said, I hadn't really thought about what I wanted to do, because I-"

"I understand." Seto waved off his explanations. "You don't want to plan a future if the future looks uncertain."

"Right." Yugi said with relief.

"Well, if you go online, there are a plethora of career aptitude tests that you can take. I can see if I can find the most reputable ones and get back to you on that." Seto said decisively. "Perhaps you could start out at the local college taking some courses that just seem interesting, I can bring over course booklets for you if you want."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Yugi asked, looking up at Seto with confusion. Seto thought a moment.

"I guess I think of you as an employee of sorts, since you did work for me. And Mokuba considers you next to family. Those factors combined make me want to see you succeed." He finally admitted. "I'm not as heartless as I try to seem. A number of employees I have helped get their degrees or allowed for special circumstances in their lives."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Now, there was one more piece of business I came here for." Seto said as Joey set down plates of pancakes.

"What's that?" Yami asked, before shoving half a pancake in his mouth.

"I wanted to meet this Kia person, the one that gave Yugi his human body."

%&%&%&%

"It all just seems so...incredibly unbelievable." Yami said as they walked briskly towards Kia's shop.

"Believe me, there's going to be no room for disbelief once you meet Kia." Joey chuckled. "She's one of a kind, just like our Yugi." He ruffled the younger boy's hair, despite a yelped protest.

"What was it like Yugi, to become human?" Yami asked.

"I don't honestly know, I was unconscious for it, and when I woke up, I was human."

"What did that feel like?" Seto queried.

"It felt strange, new, and at the same time for the first time since I had 'awoken' I felt completely right." Yugi explained softly as they came upon Kia's brightly painted sign.

"Funny, I never noticed this place before." Yami said in a bemused tone. Mokuba just smirked and opened the door.

"Welcome again, friends." Kia's mellow voice drifted out of the back of the store and they could see her perched once again at her desk. "I see you have brought more friends today."

"You are Kia?" Seto asked. Kia nodded. "You don't look so..." He trailed off as the lupine ears and tail registered in his mind and then he could only stare, open-mouthed. Yami was also staring. Kia didn't seem to be offended, only amused.

"You should not judge based on outward appearance youngling." Kia gently admonished. "Many of the people you meet on the streets, or in your workplace could be supernaturals in disguise."

"Youngling?" Yami repeated. "You don't look so old."

"Like I said, appearances can be deceiving." Kia replied.

"Then how old are you?" Mokuba asked curiously.

"Old enough that nothing surprises me much anymore." Kia sighed. "Now, to what do I owe this visit?"

"Well, Seto just wanted to meet you really." Mokuba explained.

"And I wanted to thank the one that made it possible for Yugi and I to be together." Yami added.

"Ahh, so you are Yugi's young man." Kia said with delight. "Excellent, excellent. And don't thank me, thank the mother-goddess, she is the one that granted Yugi's wish."

"we're just lucky you knew how to contact Her." Joey replied.

"Well, technically I suppose you can say that my work is for the mother-goddess, taking care of her outcast children on Earth, so it was not luck. Nothing is ever just luck." She replied. "Now then, what is next for you Yugi? Now that you have your man."

"I don't know. Seto has offered to put me through school, but I don't know what I want to do yet." Yugi replied sheepishly.

"I'm sure you'll find it. Perhaps though in the meantime I can interest you in a job?"

"A job?'

"Yes, I've been considering taking on a part-time assistant in the shop."

"I guess that would be cool." Yugi admitted. "Okay, yeah. I'll do it." Kia smiled softly.

"This way you're paying it forward my young friend."

Wolf: Review plz!


	28. Chapter 29

Wolf: I own nothing! Last chapter, folks.

Epilogue

"So, how are things with Yami going?" Kia asked as Yugi dusted around the shop, humming to himself. It had been a year since his birth, awakening, transformation and finding his fairy tale end.

"They're going great." Yugi replied with a loving sigh. "Yami's very good to me, you know?"

"I see it every time he comes to pick you up from work, believe me, I know." Kia chuckled, rubbing her hand through Aly's long hair, inciting a purring growl of pleasure from the diminutive vampire. "How are your courses going?"

"Well, it's only the beginning of the semester, so we haven't done much, but they're good too." Yugi chuckled. After consideration and volunteering his time at the local library Yugi had decided to pursue a career as a librarian. He'd just started his first year and was very excited about getting to learn new things.

"I see." Pippin yawned from his position napping on Kia's lap and stretched, spreading his wings to fly over to Yugi and perched on his shoulder, peeping softly. Yugi chortled and reached up a hand to lightly scratch the scales under Pippin's chin. Pippin hummed and nibbled at Yugi's fingers playfully, making the young man laugh happily.

"He's taking me on a date tonight, a really formal date, apparently." Kia raised an eyebrow at this statement.

"What makes you say that?" Kia asked.

"He asked, well he insisted, that I wear my suit." Yugi chuckled. "You know how he can get."

Kia knew. A few months into the relationship Yami had insisted that Yugi move in with him. The only reason Yugi was willing to go was that Seto had made the same offer to Joey and they would still be living in the same house, and a couple weeks after that the couple was sharing a room. Joey and Seto had been sharing all along.

"So he's going to take you somewhere fancy, huh?"

"I guess so, he won't tell me anything though."

%&%&%&%

Yugi looked around in awe at the restaurant Yami had led him into. There were actual chandeliers on the ceiling and everything looked like it had cost at least a thousand dollars. "I feel like I'm going to break something here." He murmured to Yami.

"Not to worry Yugi, the furniture and china are not nearly as delicate as they look." Yami assured. "Besides, the owner is an old friend of the family; he'll forgive a couple of broken dishes from me."

It seemed that the owner had been informed of Yami's presence and was making his way through the dining room to them. He was a tall black man in his late fifties with salt and pepper hair, crinkles around his dark eyes and a blindingly white smile.

"Yami Sennen, as I live and breathe." He said, shaking Yami's hand. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Too long, Alonso." Yami replied gripping Alonso's hand tightly. "This is my boyfriend Yugi. Yugi, this is Alonso. My parents invested the money for his restaurant."

"And I thank the gods for them every time I look at our profits." Alonso joked. He led them to their seats. "Let me know if you need anything." Yami nodded and then the server took over and took their orders. As they ate Yami explained a little bit about the restaurant.

"Alonso opened up this place primarily as a spot for gay, lesbian or transsexual couples to have a nice dinner." He said. "My parents, ahead of their time in terms of tolerance, financed this restaurant because they thought it could make a difference."

Yugi looked around with new eyes and noticed that the other couples at the tables were almost all same-gender. "It seems that it's thrived." Yami hummed in agreement.

"Most of the employees are also of the homosexual or transsexual persuasions as well." Yami added. "Even now a lot of places will not hire 'out' personnel."

"That doesn't seem right."

"It doesn't, but unfortunately that's how it seems these things go more often than not." Yami sighed. "This place is special for another reason."

"And what's that?"

"My father proposed to my mother here, back when this place was still new." Yami replied. He sighed wistfully. "I wish they could be here today for this."

"For what?" Yugi blinked at him in confusion.

"For starting a tradition." Yugi cocked his head, not understanding until Yami brought his hand up from his lap to reveal a white velvet box. His eyes widened as Yami opened the little box, showing Yugi the silver ring with an amethyst gem the same colour as his eyes sitting in it. "Yugi, will you marry me?"

Yugi sat in stunned silence, trying to absorb what Yami had just asked him. As Yami's crimson eyes began to take on a worried cast he slowly smiled and leaned over the table to kiss Yami while taking the ring box from his fingers. Sliding the ring onto his finger he whispered in Yami's ear

"That means yes."

%&%&%&%

Kia smiled to herself as she closed up shop. Yugi and Yami had come in earlier, bursting with news about their engagement. She had oohed and ahhed over the ring, but truth be told she wasn't so surprised. She often got a sense about things, not quite clairvoyance but an ability to sense things coming into play and the ties between people. And tonight the ties between Yami and Yugi had knotted as tight as they could come, indicating a life-long commitment to each other.

She was very happy for the two of them and hoped that the gods would be kind enough to give them a life together that was long and without strife. Sighing, she made her way up to her apartment above the shop. Taking a thin tube from her bookshelf she opened it and unfurled the well-preserved piece of papyrus that was inside.

"Ah, my old friends, it's been too long." She said fondly to the two figures drawn in delicate paints there. "My new friends remind me a lot of you two." She ran her hand over the painted faces. "Perhaps Yami is your descendent my old friend." She addressed the figure with commanding crimson eyes and a crown marking him as king. "And Yugi could be your double." She said to the smaller, violet-eyed individual beside him. "He even has your name."

A small pale hand traced the faces on the papyrus. Aly growl-purred softly and sighed. "Yes, Atem and Yugi, our dear friends of so many years ago." Kia said to her, stroking her hair. "They would have liked our new friends, wouldn't they?" Aly nodded in agreement. "Perhaps someday they'll meet in whatever comes after this life."

She rolled up the papyrus carefully once more, placing it in the tube. "Nothing ever happens by accident, does it?" She mused to herself, gently handling the tube. She sighed and put the tube back on its shelf and headed for her room.

"Until we meet again my friends." She murmured as she turned off the light.

_The circle turns._

Wolf: That's it guys, it's over. I love you all and I'll be cranking out a new story soon, I promise. Oh, and I'd like to know if there would be interest in me telling Kia's story, where she came from, who she really is, that sort of thing. Let me know through review or message me. Sayonara!


End file.
